slot canyon

Auburn defeated Ol' Miss in a 11-inning marathon yesterday. Final AU 2 OM 1. Penta had a pitch count of 172 over her 9 innings with 18 SO to go with 5 walked batters and one hit by pitch. Shelby finished the final 2 innings and did not allow a hit. Both AU runs were a result of Tresvik home runs; one in the 6th and one in the 11th. I got frustrated with the game in the 8th inning and we watched and episode of Jack Ryan. When I switched back over to SEC network I got to see the last pitch of the last strikeout by Shelby to end the game. I don't know what was going on but the dugout looked like a funeral. No energy. Appeared true for both teams. Glad we were able to get the win. Don't know how long it will take Penta to recover. As usual, we had several occasions with runners in scoring position but could not get the elusive "timely hit" we are famous for.

I felt the same way when I read that article. Something like putting lipstick on a pig. I don't know how long we have been hearing that it is all about timely hitting and yet we have not been able to correct/improve that specific issue or even explain what is being done to help the team correct the issue.

Feel bad for Penta; she has 9 strike outs but can't get the run support and gets the loss. Obviously, the walks ended up making the difference. The Kentucky pitcher (Langdon) was good. Credit to the freshman. Statistically, our conference offensive numbers reflect what we are seeing (and have been seeing). Last or next to last in BA, runs scored, hits, RBI. Need to mention we have played fewest games in conference due to some games cancelled. AU completed 39 games; next fewest 42 with most teams in the 44 - 47 range. Hate to admit that I look forward to the season ending but look forward to hopefully some positive changes.

So good to see Shelby have a good complete game in spite of some horrible non-strike calls by the umpire. Glad the error in 7th did not come back to haunt us. https://auburntigers.com/news/2024/4/14/softball-auburn-softball-secures-series-win-at-no-6-lsu.aspx

Play Samford tonight at 6pm in Auburn. Game on SEC+. Samford season record is 9 - 24. Their HC, Kimball Cassady, played 3rd base at AU 1998 - 2001. Hired at Samford July 2021.

Glad to get the road win. That late game possession call awarded to Florida really was a suck call. Even the announcers were convinced it would be overturned upon review.

In the second game there were good defensive plays by both teams. The USC Upstate pitcher was good. What little I have seen this season, I thought the team looked improved. In first game that was a nice HR by "baby Penta". The bases loaded shot by Packer was the classic "no doubter". https://auburntigers.com/news/2024/3/3/softball-no-25-tigers-walk-off-a-pair-of-wins-for-sunday-sweep-at-jane-b-moore-memorial.aspx

Appeared to have lost composure in that last quarter. Thought we were finally turning the corner, but this late game collapse indicates otherwise. Surprised at the number of AU fans at the game.

From the VT web site: https://hokiesports.com/news/2024/2/9/softball-greins-12-strikeout-showing-leads-virginia-tech-past-auburn-8-1.aspx VT got HR in 5th and then in 8th Penta allowed 2 singles plus there was an AU error and score. Lowe gave up bases loaded HR (some unearned from Penta). You get the picture. Notice that Camron Fagan of the famed Fagan sisters still playing for VT (senior). Not that it should make anyone feel any better; VT defeated Illinois 18 - 1 earlier today.

Greg Pratt died during mid-day drills in August 1983. Ruled heat stroke. Somewhere in my stack of "stuff" I have saved the newspaper photo and article about the event. The photo was of Coach Dye and then wife Sue standing in the hospital hall. The strained look on his face told all. Pratt, I believe had to be helped by teammates to finish the last of 4 - 440's (timed). He apparently collapsed in the dressing room afterwards.

I suspect he is more likely thinking about going forward to get a professional contract ASAP.

Not directly related to AU VB but I watched the final two sets of the Texas - Wisconsin VB playoff game last night. Texas won the match 3-1. The point margin in the last two sets were 12 and 9 in favor to Texas. In the third set, Texas had an amazing 11-0 run (included 3 aces) to go up 15 - 3. For the night Texas had 11 aces with 6 by Skinner. They had a 10 - 1 run in the final set on the way to a 25 - 16 win. They targeted one player with 52 of the serves with the Texas coach stating it was an attempt to "wear her down". The Texas libro (Halter, a 5'5" freshman) was fantastic. They play Nebraska at 2 PM CT on ABC. Hard to imagine reaching the level of play I saw last night; the chasm is wide and deep.

Just for a little color from the other side; this from a Indiana basketball forum: "Was at the game. IU may have had more fans but it was close. Having their band and cheerleaders sure made it feel more like an Auburn home game though. It was definitely an advantage for them. I'm sure Dolson(who was there) will use money, distance or finals as his excuse. It was a bad look and yes the IU fans there noticed long before we collapsed after 10 minutes. Our fans that come to see these destination/neutral site games spend a lot of money to attend. Most have come to expect our cheerleaders, the pep band, all the flags and pregame pep rallys. We got nothing and a terrible performance by the team. No we probably still lose this game no matter but still... it just seemed like a half ass'd effort all around by IU. Sorry but we should be all in for IU basketball in every facet."

Does size matter? Western Michigan has 1 player listed at 6'3" and two players at 6'2". Auburn has 7 players (in playing rotation) listed at 6'2 or greater. I used to think it would be an advantage but after watching some of these teams with "shorter" players with quickness and jumping ability, I have had to rethink that opinion. Something that seemed to stand out was their ability to get the ball to the net quickly in position for a good set for their hitters. Their setter (Case, 5'8") had 44 assist. Their serve game accounted for 11 aces (6 by one player) compared to 3 for AU.....right there an 8 point differential. They also had 11 more kills; in spite of being mere dwarfs. I am by no means an expert regarding volleyball, but it seems that AU is more of a power team and Western Michigan is more of a finesse team. It will be interesting to see how they fare going forward.

Straight set losses by 6,7 and 8 points. Western Michigan was another team that appeared to have a lot of quickness. Their serve-return game was superior. Always seemed to be in the right spot to make digs. They were very efficient, knew our weaknesses and took advantage. Hopefully this will make us better going forward.

Maybe with the exception of the Florida game, I thought this was the best we played vs a highly ranked team. Good to see this late in the season.

AU defeated BAMA in straight sets with score margins of 11-5-7. It was a fun match to watch, not just because of the AU win, but both teams showed great hustle and effort. Very good crowd. Barrett continued to do excellent at her setter position. Morton had 19 digs. Bodies were all over the floor for the entire match. We play #9 Arkansas Friday @ 3pm. They defeated us soundly in 3 sets earlier this year. Selection Sunday this weekend.

Scott got into foul trouble early in Q1 and I don't believe played any more in 1st half. Also in the first 15 minutes we had something like 9 or so trips down court without scoring a single point. I tuned again briefly in the second half and thought the announcer said something about Scott-Grayson apparently going back through the tunnel? Injury? Maybe someone else can confirm.

I have tried to be a fan of the women's game but sometimes (excuse the expression) they just look like a bunch of girls. Too much "helter-skelter" Simply no comparison to the men's game. Obviously, some to the top women's teams are fun to watch but AU is not anywhere near that category. The fact that there is not a competing men's game (at AU anyway) in Gymnastics, Softball and Volleyball is a factor in the popularity of those sports.

Pretty much dominated the match (3sets) with set margins of victory of 13, 11 and 2 points. Of course the domination also revealed by the stats: kills 41-27, blocks 12.5 -7, errors 10-23. Credit to LSU for not folding and making good effort to fight to the end in the final set. In that final set, Anderson had 8 kills of her total 14. Next up Alabama who have not won a conference match this year and would love to do so this Wednesday in Auburn. They appear to be improving but have won only 5 sets in 16 conference matches to date. Then on Friday our final conference match vs the excellent Arkansas razorbacks. Watched a portion of their game yesterday vs Florida; both very good teams. Arkansas won in 5 sets. I believe their speed and quickness is one thing that separates them from Auburn and a lot of other opponents. Gillen, #10 , their outside hitter is outstanding. Listed at 5'7", she leads the team in kills with 370. They steamrolled us earlier this season in 3 sets.

We seemed to serve better but our blocking was not up to par. We were not able to block into the court and many blocks went out of bounds. Usually a strong point for us but not this time. Many times in the last couple of matches, we seem to be out of position defensively and the opponent is able to place the ball in a vacant spot. I admit that I very little about the game but enjoy watching a good match.

Unfortunate they had to witness a beat down of epic proportions. We got P'ed on; Kentucky was Polished, Precise and Poised. Two closest sets lost by 11 point margins. Total points for the 3 sets: Kentucky 75, AU 39. Stats very lopsided as you can imagine but most revealing was Service Aces at 10 - 1. Earlier in the season Alabama won a set in their match vs Wildcats. Hope the team can psychologically recover from this set back. I had no expectations of defeating Kentucky but hoped for a more competitive match.

Another 5 et match win. Our efforts at aggressive serving really seems to put us in a hole at times. We had 18 serve errors and only 3 aces. TAM had 11 SE and 10 SA. We did dominate blocks, 12 - 4 and hitting % .320 - .188. That set point in set 5 was a beauty with a perfect set by Barrett and perfect timed jump by Swanson for the kill. Bell really got my attention. She had 11 kills and .429 hitting %. Some of her shot placements I thought were amazing. Several times she was able to hit between the out-stretched hands of 2 defenders for a kill.

I had watched part of a BAMA game early in the SEC season and then a portion of another game about a week ago and was impressed with the improvement though they are yet to win an SEC game. They played well yesterday. For AU, we continued to have too many serve errors. Again, I thought Barret had very good game with 44 assist, 4 serve aces, 4 kills and 11 digs. I believe Thibault has done a good job having been thrust into the libero rotation. Appears to me that Slaughter has upped her game a notch. Some tough matches coming up with Texas A&M and Kentucky. Speaking of Kentucky, I watched a good bit of their game vs Arkansas last week. Both teams are on a different level that the rest of the conference in my opinion. Guess that's why they are ranked 1 & 2 in conference.

AU vs Georgia Volleyball 10/27/2023 Great comeback 5 set win for the tigers 22-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-18 and 15-11. The TV announcers included Nikki Chester who was a very good player at Georgia 92-95. She did the "analysis" and I thought she had very good insight and unbiased. Georgia was on a 3-match win streak with victories over Ol' Miss, TA&M and LSU. AU had a continued problem with their serve/receive game in the first 2 sets but seemed to get more settled after set 2. Set 3 had 16 ties and 8 lead changes. Opponents seem to attack Anderson a lot on their serves, and it appeared to me that AU was "shading" her somewhat in some serve situations. For Georgia, their great Middle Blocker Fisher had 16 kills while for AU Scheer continued her hot streak with 24. I tend to overlook the contributions of Jackie Barret who had 46 assist and 12 digs. Slaughter was back in the lineup but still have a couple out with injuries. Play at BAMA on Sunday at 11. I believe game is on SEC network.