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Full count for McCondichie. Lead off walk! Time to make Missouri pay for their mistakes!

SMH ... Packer tries to bunt and pops out. Can't do that. Just a waste of a freaking at bat.

Garcia grounds out and McCondichie moves up. Still no hits with runners on base.

Peralta flies out ... Missouri got 3 outs on 4 pitches after the full count walk.

1-0 Missouri B5th

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Penta starts the inning with 2 ks. And apparently the earlier tweet about Penta's strike out record for an Auburn Sophomore was wrong. She NOW holds it, though.

And then another 3-2 walk. Every single inning Penta has given up a free base. A first pitch ball to the next batter and Dean and Lisenby comes out to talk to Penta. She stays in the game.

Another 3-2 count. Missouri not chasing anything and Penta is not throwing it close. Another walk. At this point you have to seriously think about taking her out. She hasn't had the control all game.

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Penta gets out of the jam with another strike out. She's either walking or striking out batters. lol

Ellis, Lisenby, Cox coming up. Need some run support!

1-0 Missouri T6th

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Ellis singles! Auburn has had runners on every inning. Gotta take advantage of them. Smith in to run for Ellis. Glad to see her in the game since she's been injured since the Niagara game. Almost a month.

Lisenby with a sac bunt. Smith goes to 2nd. Not sure I agree with that considering how hot Lisenby's bat has been.

Cox goes down 0-2 and a foul tip that the catcher can't hold onto. A huge break but it doesn't matter as she strikes out on the next pitch. Sigh. Still hitless with runners on base.

Godwin goes down 0-2 as well. And watches strike 3. I have very little hope that Auburn will get a hit with runners on base today.

1-0 Missouri B6th

 

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Wow! 1-2-3 inning for Penta including 1 strike out. Only threw 8 pitches! Despite her shady control she pitched a great game and did more than enough to win this game. Come on Auburn, get some clutch hits here!

Schmidt, McCondichie, Packer coming up.

1-0 Missouri T7th

Edited by tgrogan21
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Our girls need some serious coaching on hitting.  I just watched us swing at about 9 balls and the last one took a strike  three on the inside corner after swinging at what should have been balls 1 & 2.  The next thing o saw is all out hitters seem to swing as hard as they can and hope they make contact.  I have no confidence in our girls getting clutch hits.

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Missouri's pitcher has pitched 6 innings and only thrown 89 pitches. Compared to Penta's 134.

Schmidt falls behind 1-2. Auburn is 0-13 with runners on base. Full count for Schimdt. COME ON! ... Fly out for out 1.

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Roach hitting for Packer ... Another confusing decision by Dean. Hasn't even been to the plate in a couple of weeks.

Roach falls behind 1-2 ... Strikes out. Stupid, stupid, stupid decision to put her in the game at this point. Stupid decision to send Lisenby home. Stupid decision to sacrifice Lisenby last inning. Awful job hitting with runners on base.

Missouri wins 1-0. Auburn's SEC tournament is over.

Edited by tgrogan21
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15 minutes ago, tgrogan21 said:

Roach hitting for Packer ... Another confusing decision by Dean. Hasn't even been to the plate in a couple of weeks.

Roach falls behind 1-2 ... Strikes out. Stupid, stupid, stupid decision to put her in the game at this point. Stupid decision to send Lisenby home. Stupid decision to sacrifice Lisenby last inning. Awful job hitting with runners on base.

Missouri wins 1-0. Auburn's SEC tournament is over.

I’ve felt all along since Deans been here that he  is a very good pitching coach but is not going to get us back to the top level softball without better hitting coaches and better in game management. 
 

how u allow a player to bat in the LAST at bat for Packer who does have some pop in her bat to maybe hit one out. 
I bet that girl was super nervous trying to not strike out. Can’t blame her. 

so what is our SECT record under Dean now?

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To try and put a positive spin on this...since we weren't going to win the conference tourney...at least now we can rest Maddie for the NCAA tourney next weekend...hopefully give the ladies a couple days off and come back on Monday and get ready to make a run for Oklahoma...

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We’ve lived off the long ball all season, and we aren’t hitting as many the past few games. We’ve got to string some hits together moving forward.

I was puzzled by Dean’s plan at the plate. We have been swinging away all season with runners on base,  but he called 3 or 4 bunts with runners on first. I understand trying to manufacture runs late in the game, but Packer popped out on a bunt in the third or fourth when it was still tied 0-0.

Hopefully the team is able to rest, clear their minds, and get healthy. We need to find some success at the plate to match the defense and pitching next week. 

Edited by Jad0003
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Any idea what happened with Packer? Early in the season I was excited to see her come to the plate. Lately, I've had the "oh no" feeling when it's her turn to bat. She was doing fine, I thought. Then Dean benched or "rested" her and moved her down in the lineup and she hasn't been the same since. Did she disappoint in some area and that's why she got moved around, or did she get moved around and then failed to produce?

Jessie Blaine missing today's game didn't help us either. We haven't had a lucky season, injury wise.

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3 hours ago, EagleEye67 said:

Shades of last season... Pitching well enough to win, zero run support.

Which sucks because that's not been the case most of the season. We've had the run support but pitching has been subpar for a lot of the season. Just can't get everything working together.

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FWIW - the final SEC hitting stats reveal our leading hitter in SEC play to be Ellis at .288. followed incrementally by Peralta, McCondichie, Blaine, Garcia, Cox, Packer, Godwin, and Lisenby (.206).  I omitted Bryant (.318) due to her shortened season.  Ellis had the only OPS over 1.  Notably, McCondichie's OPS was only .639, because she drew only 2 walks in SEC play.  Note 3 of the top 4 hitters are freshmen.  That suggests to me that hitting is mostly natural talent.   Hitters don't seem to really get better during their college careers.  Of course, I'm looking only at Auburn.  We had great hitting teams in 2015 and 2016, but the 2017 was a big drop down after Howard, Carosone, and Rhodes left.  

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5 hours ago, tgrogan21 said:

Which sucks because that's not been the case most of the season. We've had the run support but pitching has been subpar for a lot of the season. Just can't get everything working together.

Young team? We have been hearing this excuse a couple years now and yet we are still young? Schedule was easier this year than last year! 5 game SEC losing streak. Sub .500 finish in conference. Finishing 10th in the SEC... Still cannot hit and players are out of position..... Injuries have plagued the team all season.. which warrants the question if the extra weights etc are catching up to us. Not to mention our coaching staff has ZERO energy..... good thing the girls do..

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Missouri 3, Alabama 0.  Looks like we aren't the only team who can't score on Missouri.  I think they will beat Tennessee also.  Lost twice to them in Columbia, but they are playing hot now.  Good coaching job going on there.

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Bama will host a regional,  doesn't really matter if they do well in SEC tournament... and they will be in a super.... however AU is 28th in RPI and we will be going to FSU I'm afraid..... doubt we make it to a super with only Penta... she has showed a lot of signs of fatigue lately. 

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I’ll wait until Regionals to make definitive judgement on this year, and I’ll wait until next year to really assess Dean as a head coach at Auburn. He was dealt a few blows during his tenure - timing of the change, inheriting a huge scandal, recruiting rule changes, COVID, super seniors, unprecedented amount of injuries.

I’m still hopeful we can make noise in a regional. Penta is pitching really well and time off for Lowe and Dismukes only helps. Our defense is greatly improved vs. early in the season. We need to find our confidence in the batter’s box again though.

Missouri is a very experienced team who underachieved all season. They returned every player, including 4 -5 super seniors, from last year’s team that was a top 8 seed. They likely only become a top 16 seed if they win another game or win the tournament. I wouldn’t call it a great coaching job, but they are getting hot at the right time. The outcome of the season is measured the next three weeks.

The SEC is long and grueling, but I can guarantee not many teams want to see Missouri, Mississippi State, Kentucky, Georgia, or Auburn in their regional. All of these teams can hit, and the majority have at least one ace who can shut down a team. 

Edited by Jad0003
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Agree with your post.  Most likely bama will be in a super, but not virtually guaranteed like recent years.  Their offense has suffered without big #16.  Florida is off also - Missouri is positioned well to win the tournament.

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2 minutes ago, OlderWhiskey said:

Agree with your post.  Most likely bama will be in a super, but not virtually guaranteed like recent years.  Their offense has suffered without big #16.  Florida is off also - Missouri is positioned well to win the tournament.

Bama will definitely host a regional and super. It is hard to beat them at Rhodes but not entirely impossible. Fouts will need to be perfect in the circle for them to make it to the WCWS because their bats are worse than ours. 

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2 hours ago, AU1947 said:

Young team? We have been hearing this excuse a couple years now and yet we are still young? Schedule was easier this year than last year! 5 game SEC losing streak. Sub .500 finish in conference. Finishing 10th in the SEC... Still cannot hit and players are out of position..... Injuries have plagued the team all season.. which warrants the question if the extra weights etc are catching up to us. Not to mention our coaching staff has ZERO energy..... good thing the girls do..

Not going to continue having this conversation with you.. Myself and others have given you stats about everything yet you are refusing to acknowledge them. The same will continue to be true, Auburn is one of the youngest teams in the SEC. One of the only ones that starts 4 true freshman and only 1 senior. Stop downplaying the youth of this team.

Edited by tgrogan21
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14 minutes ago, tgrogan21 said:

Not going to continue having this conversation with you.. Myself and others have given you stats about everything yet you are refusing to acknowledge them. The same will continue to be true, Auburn is one of the youngest teams in the SEC. One of the only ones that starts 4 true freshman and only 1 senior. Stop downplaying the youth of this team.

Yet you continue to allow the youth card to be played. This team is NO better and still a bottom dweller of the SEC as there are 13 teams and we are 10th. 1 and done in the SEC tournament. 28th in RPI which means we will NOT host a Regional. Are we really better?

What will the next excuse be? 

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Just now, AU1947 said:

Yet you continue to allow the youth card to be played. This team is NO better and still a bottom dweller of the SEC as there are 13 teams and we are 10th. 1 and done in the SEC tournament. 28th in RPI which means we will NOT host a Regional. Are we really better?

What will the next excuse be? 

I allow it to be played because it's true. You can believe it or not but facts don't change. We play 4 true freshman, no other top teams do that. I'm putting you on ignore so I don't have to continue to see your idiotic posts about this.

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