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2020 Softball season


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7 hours ago, steeleagle said:

good detailed analogy. I hadn't thought about all the circumstances. Add that he has brought in a whole different set of coaches to handle hitting and how Dean's teams will be developing. 

This year is just going to be that perfect storm. Our weakest pitching in the last 6 years, and possibly weak power team. Could be a long season...

I also think some of the softball fans were spoiled when Meyers came in here and made us a softball power by his 2nd year...

Good points. Myers’ quick success can be attributed to his coaching ability, but also the recruiting of Tina Deese and her two assistants, Steve Johnson and Mark Ryal. They are the reason these superstars were ever on campus: Branndi Melero, Morgan Estell, Emily Carosone, Tiffany Howard, Jade Rhodes, Kasey Cooper, Lexi Davis, Marcy Harper. 

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12 hours ago, OlderWhiskey said:

I've mentally likened this year to the 1981 football season - laying the foundation for the next year. 

However.....1981 football was year one for a new coaching staff. By year three they were in contention for a national championship. This will be year three for Dean and if we become a contender in the SEC it will be shocking. I'm hopeful about the future but not optimistic at all. So far I've been underwhelmed by Dean's results.

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Dean had to weather an extremely unusual set of catastrophes left behind by the Meyers family, which saw a couple year exodus of players which may/may not have had anything to do with dean.
 

I hope the frosh next year can impact immediately.  Softball is enjoyable to watch with a competitive team.  The sec is so tough. 

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12 hours ago, Hspoprn said:

I agree, ellitor. While I have not yet become a CMD fan, his 5th and 6th year will be the telling points.

Yeah. He's always nice to me but I know other people he rubs the wrong way.

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3 hours ago, slot canyon said:

Noticed Hannah Cavanaugh name missing from roster.  Down to 23 players.  

Any idea why she is gone at the beginning of the season? That seems like a strange time to quit. 

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Auburn Softball Report, Week 2

By Phillip Marshall
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Alyssa Rivera (21) had the first two-home run game of her career. (Photo: Shanna Lockwood, Auburn University)

A look back at the week that was and ahead at the week to come in Auburn softball. Go below for a players of the week, notes of interest, statistical leaders and records of SEC teams.

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Auburn went 5-1, falling to Kennesaw State and going  5-0 in the Plainsman Invitational against UNC-Wilmington and Alabama State to improve to 8-3 for the season.

After falling to Kennesaw State on Thursday, the Tigers trailed UNCW 7-0 after two innings on Friday in their first tournament game. From there, they outscored their opponents 52-3 over the next 30 innings.

The week’s results

Kennesaw State 4, Washington 1

Auburn 8, UNCW 7 (10 innings)

Auburn 9 Alabama State 1 (5 innings)

Auburn 7, Alabama State 1

Auburn 18, UNCW 1

Auburn 10, UNCW 1

Player of the Week

Senior outfielder Alyssa Rivera was 9-for-19 with nine runs scored and nine runs batted in. Against UNCW on Saturday, she had the first two-home run game of her Auburn career.

Pitchers of the Week

Senior Ashlee Swindle pitched nine innings and threw 149 pitches, striking out a career-high 13, in Auburn’s comeback victory over UNCW. Overall, she pitched 17 1/3 innings and gave up eight runs, only four of them earned. After the second inning of the first game against UNCW, she gave up just three hits and one unearned run in her next 13 innings.

--Junior Lexie Handley pitched 14 2/3 innings, giving up 10 hits and six runs, four of them earned as she started four of five tournament games.

Other standouts

Note: With four lopsided victories, head coach Mickey Dean was in bench-clearing mode. Every player on the roster got into games and got at-bats.

--Senior third baseman Tannon Snow was 6-for-17 with two home runs, five RBIs and five runs scored.

--Freshman outfielder Jaylin Calvert started Auburn’s comeback against UNCW with a grand slam in the fourth inning. For the weekend, she was 4-for-14 with four runs scored and five RBIs. She also hit a double off the fence in left-center.

--Freshman second baseman Maddison Koepke was 3-for-9 with an RBI and a triple.

--Junior transfer Samantha Yarbrough was lights out as a reliever. She pitched six scoreless innings, giving up two hits, striking seven and walking two. She combined with Handley for a 7-0 shutout of Alabama State, giving up one hit, striking out four and walking two to earn her second career win.

WHAT’S AHEAD

Auburn left Tuesday for a very challenging trip to Palm Springs, Calif., for the Mary Nutter Classic. The Tigers take four ranked teams, including No. 1 UCLA, No. 5 Arizona, No. 16 Arizona State and No. 25 Northwestern.

The schedule

Thursday: Arizona State, 12:30 p.m.

Friday: Northwestern, noon.

Friday: California, 2:30 p.m.

Saturday: Arizona, 11:30 a.m.

Sunday: UCLA, 11 a.m.

NOTEWORTHY

--Auburn hit `10 home runs over the weekend. Dowell, Snow and Rivera hit two apiece. Freshmen, including Maia Englekes, Carlee McCondichie and Calvert, hit the first home runs of their careers. Sophomore Aspyn Godwin hit the second home run of her career.

--After the second inning of the tournament opener, Auburn’s earned run average was 0.67.

--Auburn averaged 10.6 runs per game in the tournament.

STATISTICS

Here are Auburn’s statistical leaders:

Offense

Justus Perry: .435, 5 runs, 10 hits, 5 RBIs, 1 home run.

Makenna Dowell:  .429, 5 runs, 12 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 home runs, 2 doubles.

Tannon Snow: .367, 5 runs, 11 hits, 9 RBIs,2 home runs, 3 doubles.

Maddison Koepke: .296, 2 runs, 8 hits, 7 RBIs, 1 home run, 1 triple.

Alyssa Rivera: .290, 9 runs, 9 RBIs, 9 hits, 2 home runs.

Jaylin Calvert: .278, 6 runs, 5 hits, 8 RBIs, 1 home run, 2 doubles.

Pitching

Samantha Yarbrough: 0.55 ERA, 2-0, 12 2/3 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 14 strikeouts, 8 bases on balls.

Lexie Handley: 2.20 ERA, 2-0, 23 1/3 IP, 19 hits, 9 runs (7 earned), 13 strikeouts, 12 bases on balls.

Ashlee Swindle: 2.22 ERA, 4-3, 34.2 IP, 28 hits, 18 runs (11 earned), 20 strikeouts, 11 bases on balls.

SEC TEAM RECORDS

Here are the records of SEC teams:

Florida 11-1

Mississippi State 9-1

Arkansas 7-1

Missouri 9-2

Kentucky 7-2

Tennessee 6-2

Auburn 8-3

Texas A&M 8-3

Georgia 8-3

South Carolina 5-3

Alabama 4-5

Ole Miss 1-8

 

 

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20 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Any idea why she is gone at the beginning of the season? That seems like a strange time to quit. 

May be doing some roster trimming or player might feel her chances to get playing time are such that it is not worth the effort and time spent.  I suppose in poker that is knowing when to fold.  I was talking to the parent of a player several years ago during the early part of the season about potential line up going forward.  She stated something to the effect that reality of playing time sets in for a lot of the girls when they post the travel roster for the away games.  I believe they place some limits on who makes those trips.  I suppose that being a "utility player" has value in that situation.  In the case of the player mentioned above, she had not pitched and had one at bat during a bench clearing blow-out game.  

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5 hours ago, slot canyon said:

May be doing some roster trimming or player might feel her chances to get playing time are such that it is not worth the effort and time spent.  I suppose in poker that is knowing when to fold.  I was talking to the parent of a player several years ago during the early part of the season about potential line up going forward.  She stated something to the effect that reality of playing time sets in for a lot of the girls when they post the travel roster for the away games.  I believe they place some limits on who makes those trips.  I suppose that being a "utility player" has value in that situation.  In the case of the player mentioned above, she had not pitched and had one at bat during a bench clearing blow-out game.  

thanks. Understand. And Samantha I believe was a Sophomore, and if she saw she was still going to be a utility player going forward, she may have felt the time to go was now.

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19 hours ago, AU1947 said:

Plus you have pitchers coming in on both 2020 and 2021 classes. 

That may be better than any P we have on roster right now.

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@ellitor I really appreciate the explanation about why this team isn't very good this year. I was really done with Dean, but your point about how soon these kids commit and how the Myers stuff cost AU several commitments years ago really put into perspective the task Dean has at hand. I am still not a huge fan of his in-game decisions at times, but he's good with me for a couple more seasons to recover from the losses and it sounds like the next class and maybe the one after is heading in the right direction. Hoping to get back to good softball as it's one of those sports I really enjoy watching when it's good.

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Tiger trio sweep SEC softball weekly awards

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Behind tremendous efforts at the plate and in the circle over the Tiger Invitational, senior Alyssa Rivera, sophomore Samantha Yarbrough and freshman Carlee McCondichie swept the Southeastern Conference's weekly softball awards after being named Co-Player, Co-Pitcher and Co-Freshman of the Week, respectively, on Monday.

It marks the first time in Auburn softball history that the Tigers have swept all three weekly honors. The Tiger trio shared the awards with Mississippi State's Chloe Malau'ulu (Co-Player), Annie Willis (Co-Pitcher) and Madisyn Kennedy (Co-Freshmen).

The Tiger trio were integral parts to Auburn's 5-1 performance over the Tiger Invitational, which featured a 5-1 victory over No. 18 Minnesota and two come-from-behind efforts to defeat Georgia Southern and Binghamton. 

Earning SEC Player of the Week for the first time in her career, Rivera recorded five multi-hit outings over the weekend tournament. The right fielder posted a .667 average over Auburn's six game slate, racking up 12 hits and 10 runs scored. Rivera slugged one double and two home runs for a staggering 1.056 slugging percentage over the weekend. The Eagle Lake, Fla., native also drew a team-leading four walks to pair with a .727 on-base percentage. She added six RBI.

A key piece in Auburn's extra-inning victory over Georgia Southern (Feb. 28) to open the Tiger Invitational, Rivera tied her career high with a 4-for-5 performance at the plate against the Eagles. Trailing by one in the bottom of the seventh and down to the last out, Rivera slugged a solo homer to force extra innings. She would come up big once more in the bottom of the ninth, walking off for the 5-4 victory with an RBI single.

Rivera was unstoppable on the base paths with a perfect 7-for-7 effort in steal attempts. She closed the Tiger Invitational with 34 career stolen bases to move into a tie for fifth place in program history with Lauren Walton (2004-07). She is the first Tiger to win SEC Player of the Week since her teammate Tannon Snow brought home the award on April 9, 2019.

Yarbrough made her presence felt in the circle as the anchor of the Auburn pitching staff over the Tiger Invitational. The transfer from South Alabama posted a 3-0 record in the circle and picked up her first save of the season. Yarbrough also combined for Auburn's second shutout of the year, topping Georgia Southern (March 1) by a 6-0 final. Over 17.1 innings of work, the right-hander allowed just three hits and gave up one earned run for a 0.40 ERA. She struck out 19 batters over her four appearances.

The Fairhope, Ala., native's weekend began in Auburn's extra-inning victory over Georgia Southern (Feb. 28) as she shut down the Eagles' offense over the final four innings to earn the victory in relief. In her first start as a Tiger, Yarbrough tossed the first seven-inning, complete game of her career and held No. 18 Minnesota (Feb. 29) to a lone hit for the victory. She gave up a solo home run in the third before retiring 11 straight Gophers.

She followed up that performance by striking out seven of the nine batters she faced in a relief appearance against Binghamton (March 1) to earn Auburn's first save of the season. Her seven strikeouts were a season high. She closed the weekend tossing 3.1 innings in relief against Georgia Southern (March 1) to earn her third victory of the weekend.

Yarbrough ended the Tiger Invitational by tossing 10.2 consecutive innings without allowing a run to score. She is the first Tiger to be named SEC Pitcher of the Week since Chardonnay Harris on April 30, 2019. 

Starting the final four contests of the weekend at second base, Carlee McCondichie made the most of her opportunity. Going 7-for-14 at the plate to finish just behind Rivera with a .500 batting average, McCondichie added six runs scored and slugged the first double of her collegiate career over the weekend. She added four RBI and drew a pair of walks. She closed the weekend with a .571 slugging clip coupled with a .565 on-base percentage.

McCondichie earned the starting role after an impressive performance off the bench in Auburn's first meeting with No. 18 Minnesota (Feb. 28). The freshman went 2-for-2 at the plate with a run scored and RBI. It was her first multi-hit game of her career.

She bested that performance by going 3-for-4 with a career-high three runs scored against Binghamton (March 1) before closing the weekend with a clutch two-run double in the sixth inning against Georgia Southern (March 1) to plate key insurance runs for the Tigers. It was her first multi-RBI outing.

McCondichie is the first Tiger to be named SEC Freshman of the Week since her teammate Makenna Dowell was honor on March 27, 2018.

Auburn begins a six-game road swing on Wednesday with its final tune-up before the start of conference play. The Tigers trek to Macon, Ga., for a doubleheader at Mercer. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. CT.

 

 

 

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That was weird that it was 3 AU players and 3 Miss St players as CO winners for each award.

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5 hours ago, 4WDE said:

That was weird that it was 3 AU players and 3 Miss St players as CO winners for each award.

Yeah, I'm sure all 6 players had good weeks but this is just throwing 2 bad softball programs a bone, pretty patronizing.

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Rivera had a stellar weekend. McConditchie is hitting .583, and Yarbrough had a dominant weekend. AU beat a WCWS team in Minnesota who is ranked #18 and knocked Fisor out of the game. These Ladies deserved their accolades. 

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18 hours ago, OlderWhiskey said:

Really?  Who are your nominees?

Let's switch topics, I have a bridge you might be interested in purchasing.

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20 hours ago, wildling said:

Yeah, I'm sure all 6 players had good weeks but this is just throwing 2 bad softball programs a bone, pretty patronizing.

 

12 minutes ago, wildling said:

Let's switch topics, I have a bridge you might be interested in purchasing.

Since you brought it up seems reasonable you might have a basis for the comments.  I have been surprised at the success Mississippi State has had to this point but have questions about their schedule.  Have not studied the conference stats from last week to see if I feel the recent weekly awards are reasonable, so wondering if you have something factual that might cast some light on other players who might have been considered.  Ultimately, the cream will rise to the top as the season progresses but that appears to have been a very good performance by the players mentioned even in light of the overall competition..

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7 hours ago, slot canyon said:

 

Since you brought it up seems reasonable you might have a basis for the comments.  I have been surprised at the success Mississippi State has had to this point but have questions about their schedule.  Have not studied the conference stats from last week to see if I feel the recent weekly awards are reasonable, so wondering if you have something factual that might cast some light on other players who might have been considered.  Ultimately, the cream will rise to the top as the season progresses but that appears to have been a very good performance by the players mentioned even in light of the overall competition..

I'm making the comments based on probability - is it more likely that a) the two best candidates were equally worthy, and that they happened to come from 2 teams not likely to do well this season, or b) this is the SEC throwing these teams a bone. A is possible, but much, much less likely than B.

Like I said before, I'm sure all 6 girls had good weeks. It's tough to find better candidates because I don't follow other teams that closely. Upon further inspection, the MSU players look more suspect than the Auburn girls - Auburn at least played a couple tough games against Minnesota while the best team MSU faced was UABx2 (ranked 81 by Massey). I'd put Wickersham's 12.1 IP, 1ER vs Washington and Colorado ST over Willis' 14IP, 1ER against UAB and bad teams.

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I saw MSU play UAB.  They have some legit power.  I saw the first baseman toss a bat flip on a home run.

 

A.

Bautista.

level.

bat.

flip.

in.

soft

ball.

 

She is worth watching all on her own... Fa Leilua is fun to watch.  We'll see if she is as dominant in SEC play, but I expect she will be.

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