OlderWhiskey

Well, actually we went to Clemson last year. I really don't see us catching FSU; they're ranked #4. Their 2 seed should be in the high 20s, assuming it's done like basketball. Note there are 4 SEC teams between 12 and 16, the lone exception being Baylor. They're a little far away, given the NCAA's proclivity to minimize travel. We might draw Arkansas, but the PTB try to avoid same conference matchups as well. It has been done, though, and we didn't play Arkansas this year. Clemson and Duke are two other possibilities at 6 and 9. All this discussion based on the assumption that we don't host. Hosting is based largely based on RPI, where we are currently #19. Bama is 14th in RPI. They have wins over Duke, Texas, and FSU, all Top 10 teams. Our failure to play a tougher schedule is coming back to roost. Bama also has some losses that are hurting them, such as Lehigh, Liberty, and Kennesaw State. They have LSU at home and Ole Miss on the road left on their schedule. Their home run and RBI leader, Ashley Prange, was injured against us. It looked minor, but they took her out of the game. If she can't go, their chances are diminished. bottom line, we need to win 5 of the last 6 to have a chance to host (IMO).

May not seem like it, but we have won 3 of the last 4 series against Alabama, including the last two in Tuscaloosa. We were scheduled to play them there in 2020, but Covid cancelled the season. They then swept us in 2021 in Auburn. I'm wondering if the league changed the way the schedule is set up around 2014-15; by today's sequencing, we should have played them there in 2014 but didn't, according to the results I found. Anyone know?

Absolutely great! I had thought we were better than bama, and had a chance to win this series. I've been on the road a lot lately due to a family illness, and haven't had much chance to comment. The sequence in the first inning of Game 2 was priceless. So happy for Penta that she could get this win. We're now tied for third in the conference, I think, and in line for a 1st round bye in the SEC tournament. We're also sneaking up on regional host territory. South Carolina will be tough at their place; they've had some good wins recently. Another road series win would have us hosting, I think, unless we mess it up vs. MSU.

There have been numerous negative and pessimistic comments regarding the hitting performance of this year's softball team. I have made some of them. Today I took a quick look at how we're hitting with 4 SEC series to go, compared to last year's full season numbers. The team batting average right now is .290, compared to .299 at the end of last year. The same three players - McCondichie, Packer, and Peralta - top both lists. Last year, they hit .325 as a group. Right now, they're at .336, in a slightly different order. Bri Ellis hit .302 for the season last year; she's at .302 right now. One notable difference is that last year, Sydney Cox was the 4th leading hitter at .310; since Bryant took over third and relegated Cox to the bench, Cox is way down the list. Bryant is hitting .317. Home run production is definitely lower this year. Last year we hit 1.51 homers per game; this year we're at 1.20. Blaine and Ellis hit 29 homers combined last year; this year they've hit 12. Overall, considering that averages are likely to drop further as we complete our SEC schedule, it seems that team hitting performance is down overall, but a group of players is pretty much maintaining what they did last year. One side note: Peralta's fielding percentage has improved from .868 to .957. All this infornation may be found at auburntigers.com softball page.

Thanks to Tim Walton for deciding to pitch Bender against us. She had appeared in 9 games, but today was her first start. The insult penalty was 4 runs. Ellis' homer was the first she'd given up. For good measure, Lisenby busted their national champion sign. So, what did everyone think about the catch(?) by Falby on the ball hit by Garcia? Didn't really matter - we wind up with a runner on first and an out either way - but I thought it hit the ground. Falby played it like she thought it hit the ground. Umps ruled it a catch. We got 3 hits off Bender, then none off Delbrey for 6 innings. Still can't hit much, but we are 5th in the conference at 7-5, and ahead of both Florida and Alabama. We don't play Kentucky, UT, or Arkansas, so that improves our prospects. Georgia is leading the league, and we were redbug close to winning our series with them. We get LSU next weekend; they are 6-6 in the conference. They were swept by UT, and lost single games to USC, Ole Miss, and Mizzou. They're hitting .323 as a team, with 30 homers. Pleasants and Clark have 17 of those. They have 6 pitchers, with an overall ERA of 1.98. Ali Kilponen is probably the ace, has been there a long time. And they have a Tuesday game vs. Oklahoma in Baton Rouge. Edit: We are now tied for 4th in the conference, with UK's loss (9-3) at Ole Miss today. UK gets UT (who leads the SEC at 10-2) this next weekend.

I also feel badly for Lowe; I'm sure she expected three more years like 2021. Instead, whatever treatment she received seems to have made things worse, not better.

Just a note: Missouri run ruled Alabama 11-3 in their Sunday game (at Mizzou).

Great stuff! Thanks for the memories. I recall watching that game on TV. Remembered the homer by Rhodes, but had forgotten the catch by Jordan, who is on my all-time favorites list. Noticed some subs near the end - Anna Gibbs, Jenna Abbott, Bree Fornis. Got to feeling sorry for Samford, though. That team was a hungry beast.

Well, it didn't turn out to be that close, with Penta pitching for us. She struck out 8, and Garcia had 5 RBI with a double and a dinger. The double barely made it over the LF and should possibly have been caught, but it was a hard shot. Their CF made a nice play on a ball hit by Packer, and McCondichie had a nice catch of a pop behind second base. Samford fielding contributed muchly to the 10-0 score. The Tigers chased starter Newcomb in the 4th (she may have been on a pitch count) and continued the assault on Partain, who walked the first 4 batters she faced. Fun game to watch, wondering if Slot made it to the game.

Good comments. I just watched on replay, skipped about 3 innings in the middle. Noticed McNemar wasn't dressed, arm in a sling. Great clutch hits by Ellis and Bryant in the 7th. We are in a pretty good position in the conference, considering our schedule. We don't play either UT, Kentucky or Arkansas. UT and UK are on top of the conference. Alabama and Florida seem to be having down years. We are two games head of Alabama in the conference right now. Ole Miss next at the Jane.

I watched the 2-1 game on replay last night. Fairly interesting to watch despite the low score. Some interesting plays and about a half dozen reviews by the umps. Packer saved a run in the first on a ball hit by Connold. It was over the fence, but Packer got it in her glove and brought it back in, only to lose it when her elbow hit the top of the fence coming back in. Held her to a double, and she didn't score. Packer figured in another unusual play later in the game. She was on first when someone hit a healthy drive to left. The left fielder went back for it, it hit her glove and bounced up, and she wheeled around and recaught it. Packer had rounded second by this time, and was doubled up at first. Mizzou also turned a nice 4-6-3 DP in the game. Oh, and Dean actually gave Connold two intentional passes. I still remember his first SEC game vs. LSU. it went extras, and LSU had their fastest player (Andrews) on second, and their best hitter up with two outs. She played first, can't recall the name right now. First was open, so it was a no-brainer to put her on. But no! Dean pitched to her, she looped a hit into left, and Andrews scored the winner. But to give Dean some credit, he inserted Roach to run for McCrary after the latter singled in the 7th. Roach wound up scoring the inner on a fairly close play. Would McCrary have made it?

To be fair, I think Garcia and McCondichie have progressed a lot. Engelkes has slowly gotten better to the point where she can contribute, but it's about too late for her. I don't know how much they are affected by coaching, and how much is just their own determination.

Our upcoming opponent Missouri beat Northwestern 6-1 back in February, also beat Pitt twice. Two wins over Illinois (3-2 and 7-0), and they also beat UCF. In the SEC, they were swept at home and held scoreless by Kentucky ( 5-0, 5-0, and 6-0). This weekend, they took the first game at Florida by hitting 3 homers, but that was followed by two 1-run losses.

Leading with Lowe again today. Looks like same lineup all around.

Well pleased with the effort tonight. Superb play by Packer to end the game; close call at second. I assume the ump had a better view; Georgia didn't complain, so it must have looked closer to me than it really was. Really proud of Lisenby for that 2-run double. Ellis' home run a monster, came down at least 75 feet past the fence. Ellis last AB may have been the most important. She fouled off 3 pitches after the count went full, and finally drew the 2-out walk that provided the final margin when Garcia homered. To answer a question above, Tresvik played lf the last 3 innings. McCrary made the last out after Garcia's homer, so Icess never came to the plate. Seemed like a defensive substitution. Will be interesting to see what the pitching plan is for tomorrow.

Golden Eagle is spot on. In case anyone forgot, Myers took the team to the World Series the second year he was here. This is Dean's sixth year, and we have yet to get to a super regional. What he has to do is make these girls care about winning. Most of them don't, in my opinion.

I note our upcoming opponent UGA beat Tech 8-0 about a week ago. Neleman (same pitcher as against us) started, gave up 4 hits and 5 runs in 1 1/3. I have actually thought we could hit, but the last two games have made me question that. Neleman has an ERA over 4. She shouldn't be able to shut us down like that. Georgia Tech lost to Illinois, whom we run-ruled in Clearwater. We need to break out of this team-wide slump.

I had the same thoughts as Samin bama originally, but Dean commented that he had talked to the team about being more patient at the plate, and was pleased that they had done so. Walks are not as much fun for the players and fans as hits are, but they can be productive. A team drawing a lot of walks is not swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, which is probably what got us beaten vs. USA. Lackey is a good pitcher - she struck out 14 vs. La. Tech the weekend before - but she also has 3 losses. We definitely underperformed in that game. Looking forward, I do have concern about the pitching. It's apparent that Lowe is not back to her 2021 form, and may never be. She did throw 4 hitless innings Saturday, though; I think that's the longest outing she's had. Dean has been using her for short stints, probably on account of her injury. Let's hope she can recover fully and get back to being Shutdown Shelby.

I didn't run a thread on the TennTech game as I was busy, but it looked pretty ragged. We did win 11-6, but they were a 1-11 team starting the day. Dean started Roche, and she gave up 3 runs in the first two inning, so Widra came on in relief. She did pretty well except for the 5th, when she gave up a couple of hits followed by a 3-run homer. Offensively, we weren't impressive. We scored 9 runs in the 4th when the second pitcher had a rash of HBP and wild pitches, then couldn't score in the 5th and 6th. We won the game without using Penta or Lowe.

Garcia is hit by a pitch to start bottom 7, and I think she's our first baserunner since the first inning. Tresvik and McCrary due up. McCrary flied out, but Tresvik walked. Blaine will pinch hit for Packer. Blaine singles to center, scoring Garcia. Tresvik takes third, and Packer comes in to run for Blaine. Now Lisenby grounds into a 1-3-2 double play, and the game is over. South Alabama wins 2-1 behind a sterling pitching performance from Olivia Lackey. She gave up one hit (in the 7th) and 3 walks, throwing 101 pitches with 65 strikes. Lackey had 5 strikeouts and 12 flyouts.

Top 6: Another throwing error by Widra allows the runner to advance, but she is thrown out at 3d by Garcia. That's the 3d baserunner thrown out by the outfield in the lst 2 innings. Next batter lines out to 2d, and Penta strikes out the 3d. Going to bottom 6 with the top of the order coming up. We need some bat action. Lackey induces three popups from Peralta, McCondichie, and Ellis to maintain her no-hitter. Moving to the 7th and last inning.

Trouble city. Lowe gives up a double and a single. Runners on the corners for USA, no outs. Now she gives up another double and a run scores, leaving runners on 2d and 3d with nobody out. Penta coming in to pitch. 1-0 USA. Penta held the damage to one more run, with help from the defense throwing out two runners at the plate. 2-0 South Alabama leads going to bot 5, and we don't have a hit yet. Packer strikes out and Lisenby pops out. Now Widra flies out, and we have 6 outs left.

Alright, going to bottom 4. Pitchers in control, Lowe has thrown 49 pitches through 4 and Lackey 40 pitches thru 3. Auburn with 2 baserunners in the first, USA with one in the 2d. Ellis due up, followed by GArcia and McCrary. Ellis walked, with Smith pinch running. Smith stole second. Garcia and KK both strike out looking. That brings up Tresvik, who's already struck out once . She grounded out, and we go to the 5th. Lackie threw 21 pitches that inning.

Shelby Lowe starting in the circle, retires USA batters in order in top 1. 2 strikeouts. In bottom, Peralta walks and advances to 2d on a PB, Ellis reaches via error. But, Garcia flies out, and McCrary fouls out to lf. No score going to the second. Olivia Lackey pitching for South Alabama. SA gets a runner on via a throwing error by Widra, but no scores. Tresvik leads off the bottom, and strikes out swinging. Packer does the same. Lisenby flies out to cf, and Lackie retires Auburn with 11 pitches. Going to top 3, no score.

Penta retired the side in order, adding a strikeout for 8. Garcia to lead off bottom 6. She does it in style, with a bomb to center field. 3-0 Auburn, McCrary coming up. She flies out, Tresvik lines out to center, and Blaine, pinch hitting for Widra, adds one to Hardy's strikeout total. We go to top 7 3-0 Auburn. Penta is still in the circle; she will face Willems, the cleanup hitter, who has one of the three hits that Maddie's given up. She strikes out this time, however, bringing up Ortiz. Ortiz also strikes out, bringing Penta's K number to 10. Both of those were on 3 pitches. And now she strikes out Allen on 4 pitches to end the game. Penta finishes with 11 Ks, yielding 3 hits and no walks. Auburn has 6 hits, including two dingers and a triple. Hardy only gave up two walks. We'll see this team again tomorrow at 3, followed by Tennessee Tech, then finish up Sunday vs. Bowling Green.