OlderWhiskey

Auburn leads UNI 1-0 going to bot 4 in the Sunday game. Heyer pitching for UNI, Penta for us. Each has 6 Ks. In the 2d, Packer singled, stole second, took 3d on a PB, and scored on a bunt from Peralta. Had runners on 2d and 3d with one out in bot 4, but Peralta struck out, and Penta popped out.

And Northern Iowa beat us today. Bad 4th inning. Peralta uses poor technique and allows a run in, Wohlers throws one away, Lech misjudges a pop fly at first. 6 hits for Auburn and 2 for UNI, but they win 4-2. They looked better than us the whole game.

Well, we wanted tougher scheduling and we got it. As Big Fat said above, it was a lot closer game than the score. I was surprised that Roach didn't play. She was the first sub in the infield all last year. I also expected to see Smith, but maybe her bat isn't strong enough. The batting outlook is gloomy, though. Belmont got more hits than we did. Consider that we lost Ellis, Garcia, and Denver Bryant, plus McCondichie. I will be very surprised if we do as well as last year.

Not a tournament. Each SEC team has an off week during the SEC season, during which they play out-of-conference opposition. Last year we went to Oklahoma for the "Classic" with them, Northwestern, and Weber State, but it wasn't really a tournament. Sometimes, a team may play SEC opposition on a non-conference basis. In 2017, we had a game scheduled with UT in Columbia, TN (later cancelled by weather). One year under Myers, we played a 3-game series vs. Longwood.

Just for accuracy's sake, James Madison took a game from LSU in the Harrisonburg Super Regional in 2016.

It may be that CMD regards Tresvik as an inked-in starter, and has played McCrary and Smith this fall for evaluation purposes. But surely Packer is a starter, so why wouldn't Tresvik share time with Packer in center?

Well, I meant to put in the "Thanks" emoji, but I guess "Love" doesn't hurt anything. It will be interesting to see what the starting lineup looks like in February, especially in the outfield. One name that hasn't been mentioned much this fall is Icess Tresvik. Packer is almost certainly the starter in center. McCrary and Tresvik both showed some bat prowess during the 2023 season, but Smith had a great fall, and is a great fielder with burning speed.

Abby Smith had a really good fall. Lisenby started one of the games today. Lots of rotation among the position players. I think Smith and McCrary might be the only players who started every game. Happy we could win all 8 games, mostly by shutout, without using our top two pitchers.

Auburn gets a slower start in the 2d game. Clemons with a 2-run double in the first, and it stays that way until the 5th, when we put up 4 behind Peralta's bases-clearing double. In the 6th, Widra and Wohlers go yard to stoke a 7-run inning for the final margin of 13-0. Widra and Elkins were the starting battery, with Clemons, McNemar, Roach and Milanowski composing the infield. The standard 3 in the outfield; Dean isn't messing with that much.

Softball played Coastal Alabama in the first game today, and led 25-1 going to top 5. Homers from Packer, McNemar, Tamborra, Elkins, and Lech (slammer). Bunch of doubles as well. Scored 11 in the first and 10 in the 4th. Rolfe and Wohlers were the battery, with Lech at first, Roach at 2d, Widra at third, Peralta at ss. Smith, Packer, and McCrary in the outfield. Pinch hitting going on, as Clemons and Roberts credited with doubles. Second game vs. Enterprise St. starting about now.

We narrowly won the two games in MGY today - 5-1 over AUM and 4-3 over Alabama State. Left most of that offense from last weekend back in Lee County, evidently. Rolfe and Widra the prominent pitchers - haven't used Penta or Lowe. Clemons and Tamborra have thrown some innings. Lots of players seeing action in the infield. Smith, Packer and McCrary anchoring the outfield pretty much. Smith a good day at the plate today. See the X page for starting lineups and game bulletins. Wondering about Aubrie Lisenby. She hasn't played this fall, and was the only player missing from the "Dinner on the Diamond" photo. Elkins and Wohlers have been catching. Edit: Per the article at auburntigers.com, Clemons struck out the side in the 7th to get the save in the ASU game.

I did not attend the games, but there may be pictures on Facebook or X that show the crowd. Pittman threw 8 pitches against us when we beat them 11-0 at Troy back in the spring, scoring a strikeout and a walk.

Over Snead (18-2) and Troy (14-0). Hit over .400 on the day with 6 homers from Packer (2), Amelia Lech (2), McCrary, and McNemar. Widra was 5 for 5 while pitching and playing short and 3d. All pitching by Widra, Rolfe, Clemons, and Tamborra. More details on Auburn Softball X page. Here's a link to the official article: https://auburntigers.com/news/2023/10/1/softball-offense-shines-auburn-softball-sweeps-snead-state-troy.aspx

I just noticed they have posted the photos of the 8 new players. Not sure exactly when that happened. Cooper may have left some time back, and they just removed her pic when they put up the new ones.

For want of a nail . . .

Good stuff from 2016. I did notice that several of our batters would have been called out under today's rule regarding batter's box violations. Don't know what the rule was then. Hope all these girls are enjoying their current lives, wherever they are. I know that Tiffany Howard is a vet in Clarksvile, TN.

This is the team with the 2015 SEC tournament trophy. Top: Lexi Davis, Kelsey Bogaards, Maria Mitchell, Emily Spain, Victoria Draper, Madison Dickey, Madi Gipson, Haley Fagan, Carlee Wallace, Jordan Rocker, Marci Harper, Rachel Walters, and Kimberlee Myers. Bottom: Courtney Shea, Whitney Jordan, Sydne Waldrop, Jade Rhodes, Jenna Abbott, McKenzie Kilpatrick, Morgan Estell with trophy, Branndi Melero, Emily Carosone, Anna Gibbs, Tiffany Howard, and Kasey Cooper. I hope/think I have these correct, and apologize to any young lady I may have misidentified.

This photo was posted on the AU Softball Twitter (X) page with no identifications. I think I have finally identified each player. I'll post my results in a couple of days. Anyone else who gives a rip and has the time is welcome to take this little challenge.

Happy for Coach C. Does this bode anything for the future?

Myers resigned prior to fall practice in 2017.

LP Tiger makes a good point about perception's being based on the W-L record. Whether Dean has improved the program or not depends on where one measures from. The only way to improve on the Myers record is to actually win the championship, or at least make it to OKC more than 2 consecutive years. That's what we all want. When we hired Dean, however, we were damn glad to get him. Myers had left us in the lurch right before the start of fall practice, leaving the program in a precarious position and costing us a bunch of committed prospects. With the fallout from the scandal (Auburn coaches raping players!), we didn't know how low we would have to reach to get a coach. Dean was a respected, nationally known coach at JMU. It seemed like a home run hire for Greene, and it may have been. Compared to the mess we were in when he was hired, Dean has definitely improved the program. I'm not a big fan of Dean's, but I think he has accomplished what he was hired for.

This does not even remotely compare to what happened with Corey Myers. It seems to be some players who are unhappy with the way Dean coaches and treats them as people. The portal has made it easier for them to move on to a place where they like the culture better. Same thing happened at Alabama last year. Murphy lost 6 players, including Skylar Wallace, arguably the best position player in the league. I don't recall any investigation of that. I don't care much for Dean, but he finished 3d in the league. There is nothing to be investigated. As for the players, I love them all, and wish them well going forward. As for Carlee, she was one of my favorites also. I hate it that the end of her career didn't mirror the first 95% of it, but I still remember lots of great things she did, including that homer off Fouts a couple of months ago. War Eagle, all.

Ninety percent of baseball is half mental.

Thanks for posting. I think a lot of pitchers have had both feet off the ground without being sanctioned. Some interesting changes proposed. The thing about removing the bat knobs bothers me, though. I guess I don't understand, but I have visions of players being cold-cocked with slung bats windmilling through the infield.