Golden Eagle

I really hope Auburn pulls it out but they sure haven't been the better team tonight.

Awful bottom of the 7th for Auburn...

AU bats went silent in the SEC tournament and don't seem to have awakened yet. C'mon guys!

VERY impressive recruiting class on top of a very impressive group of returning golfers. Have to believe they're going to make some noise next year.

I watched the selection show today and AD Cohen (who was on the selection committee) was on after the brackets were announced. There was a discussion about RPI being a 'broken' metric that specifically hurt west coast teams (as I understood it). I got a phone call in the middle of it and didn't hear the reasoning. Anybody know why specifically west coast teams? It sounded like there was general consensus that the metric needs to be scrapped in favor of something new - but, as Cohen said, this year they had to work with RPI. And revamping/replacing RPI isn't the selection committee's job.

Interesting that both baseball and softball were set up to face Clemson in the postseason (assuming Auburn and Clemson win their regionals, of course). It's time for Auburn to beat Clemson in something - hoping AU baseball gets it done. Any thoughts on the overall bracket...did anybody get an easy path or higher/lower seed than they should have?

Auburn finished in 11th place after the preliminary rounds so they made the cut and will keep playing. They got better each day, posting scores of 288, 286 and 282. https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=26002

Don't understand Freeze's statement that a lot of guys go into debt to be part of AU football program? Per Mikey's comment, aren't scholly footballers adequately compensated? If he's talking about the few team members who may not be on a scholarship, I would think they knew what they were getting into and could afford to take it on. Baseball and softball, on the other hand, are limited as you can see below. 'Equivalency' means a scholarship can be split among multiple players with the total money awarded equivalent to the scholarship limit. How many baseball scholarships are allowed: Number of baseball scholarships by division level Division Level Number of Teams Total Athletes Average Team Size Scholarship Limit Per Team Scholarship Limit Type D1 298 10,400 35 11.7 Equivalency D2 259 9,000 39 9 Equivalency D3 374 11,200 34 N/A N/A NAIA 212 6,300 38 12 Equivalency JUCO 511 15,300 30 24 Equivalency Number of softball scholarships by division level In 2018-2019, approximately 1,691 schools sponsored varsity softball teams. Here’s how that number shakes out for each division level: Division Level Number of Schools Max Scholarships per School Average Roster Size D1 301 12 21 D2 282 7.2 20 D3 404 N/A 18 NAIA 207 10 21 JUCO 497 24 (D1) / 12 (D2) 17

Same story in the softball thread. Team finishes 3rd in the SEC, Penta wins SEC Pitcher of the Year, they were gypped out of hosting a regional, eventually lost to Clemson 1 game to 2 in the Clemson regional (Valerie Cagle of Clemson is a finalist for national player of the year and should win, IMO)...and yet people show up in the thread to say the team is mediocre/the coach has accomplished nothing, berate the officials, etc. Sad indeed. Surprising to me how few people here seem interested in any sport other than football and, to a slightly lesser degree, men's basketball. I guess that's why we struggle with NIL for the other sports.

Roach was playing instead of McCondichie because she had the hot bat. I think it was in the Alabama game where McCondichie hit the HR that the announcers said it was her first hit in her last 21 at bats or something like that. I don't know why Bryant didn't play those last 2 games at Clemson - don't know if she wasn't feeling well or ???

It's not fair to say that Dean has done nothing in six years. As has already been pointed out, the team finished 3rd in the SEC this year - behind only Tennessee and Georgia and ahead of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and everybody else. And while we didn't play Tennessee this year, we played South Carolina and Mississippi State at the end of the season when their injured players returned to action and both teams were playing really well. After the SEC Tournament, Auburn was ranked 15th, 16th, 17th and 17th NATIONALLY in the 4 recognized softball polls. Maddie Penta was named SEC Pitcher of the Week an unprecedented 4 times in 2023 and was also named SEC Pitcher of the Year. In 2022, Bri Ellis was the SEC Freshman of the Year. CMD has recruited well. Attendance at the games is up as well. Having said all of that, there seems to be broad agreement that Auburn has not lived up to its potential offensively and, at the very least, Lenti should be replaced as pitching coach. NIL may be an issue. And it's unclear whether there are wide-spread morale issues on the team that need to be addressed - but Cohen should find out.

Disagree - As of now, at least, we still have McCrary, Tresvik, Peralta, Roach, Milanowski, Lisenby, and Packer. Hoping more of this year's freshmen will step up next year and fill the void. We do need to upgrade coaching for the hitters, tho.

Not a bad bet. Highly regarded coach, most likely flush with NIL $$$, and closer to home.

Wow. Awful news for AU softball fans. Sounds like something is not right in the state of Denmark. I hope Cohen will investigate (and fix) whatever is wrong.

She just completed her sophomore year. Your point is still relevant.

Have been frustrated with AU's hitting throughout Dean's tenure. Agree we need to replace Lenti. And pray that we don't lose anyone else (other than possibly Cox).

Assume you're referring to this tweet from Bri earlier today: "Me crying watching all the videos of @emilyellis77 screaming when I get hits. I have the best sister in the world. I wouldn’t be close to where I am today without her. She’s seen how ugly things get behind the scenes and she never fails to lift me up and keep my head high." Really disheartening to see her earlier Instagram post mentioning 'outside hate' and this tweet. Don't know where it's all coming from...social media, maybe? I hope this isn't why she's leaving. Doubt that social media will change wherever she goes.

Bri's twitter bio says @ontovictoryNIL Student Athlete. Don't know what she was making. Did see a tweet from an AU male athlete chastizing OTV for not promoting the women athletes...

An article in the Opelika-Auburn News quotes her Instagram announcement of her decision to enter the portal: “Thank you for everything Auburn Family,” Ellis said. “Your endless support through the toughest trials and greatest joy means the world to me. I am so proud and forever grateful to have been able to call this place home for the past two years. This was my favorite group of girls I have ever played with. Each of us showed up every single day and put out our best for this University.” “No matter the adversity, the discomfort, the exhaustion, the self-doubt, the outside hate, we kept moving forward,” Ellis posted. “Most people have no idea what it takes to be a student-athlete, and that’s what makes it so special. Thank you to my coaches for believing in me and allowing me to be myself. I know I can be a lot to handle but I hope I proved myself worth the trouble. “This University is one of the greatest things to ever happen to me, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Auburn is truly one of a kind. It breaks my heart, but I must do what is right for myself in this journey. I am excited to see where life takes me, but I will never ever forget where I started and the people who got me there. Goodbye Auburn, please never forget me.” Interesting/troubling that she mentions 'the outside hate'? Last paragraph sounds to me like she's leaving because she's unhappy about something, not because she wants to be closer to home... Really sad to see her go. Link to full article: https://oanow.com/sports/college/auburn/auburn-slugger-bri-ellis-posts-farewell-enters-transfer-portal/article_fcb65b68-f8f0-11ed-8a73-8b4c0a1151b6.html

This makes me soooo sad. Totally agree with your assessment of Ellis - she was my favorite player. Guessing Blaine wants more playing time and Garcia is ready for a change after graduating (she didn't look to me like she was having fun most of the season). I also read several months ago that Sydney Cox was unhappy with her lack of playing time after starting last year so wouldn't be surprised if she enters the portal.

LOL...whatever.

Here's Maddie Shipman's bio from Wikipedia. She knows more about softball than you and I combined. Sorry if you don't agree with her analysis. She attended Valencia High School[6] and she later attended the University of Tennessee, where she played for the Tennessee Volunteers softball team from 2011-2014.[7][8] She led the Volunteers to the 2013 Women's College World Series championship where they finished as runner up to the Oklahoma Sooners. She was later selected 2nd overall in the 2014 National Pro Fastpitch Senior Draft and went on to be named Rookie of The Year and win the 2014 championship with the USSSA Pride.[9] Shipman led Tennessee to back-to-back Women's College World Series appearances in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, Tennessee advanced to the Women's College World Series finals, where they lost to Oklahoma, 2–0. As a senior in 2014, she won the Senior CLASS Award for softball and the SEC Player of the Year award.[10][11] She also won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top softball player.[12][13] She later went on to play professional softball with the USSSA Pride and the Scrap Yard Dawgs of National Pro Fastpitch.

They aren't morons. Stated the rule correctly. It was a close call but this one went Auburn's way.

GAME 7/CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #1 Clemson vs #2 Auburn on ESPN+ @ 2:05pm CDT After 1st inning: Auburn 0 - Clemson 1 Cagle pitching again for Clemson gets 3 consecutive ground outs by Auburn. Penta pitching again for Auburn - hits the first batter. Messy defensive inning by Auburn. Clemson gets a run across on a passed ball. After 2nd inning: Auburn 0 - Clemson 3 Auburn doing nothing on offense. Too many mistakes on defense/pitching. Penta comes out and is replaced by Lowe. Lowe inherited a tough situation (bases loaded) but gets out of the inning after giving up a run. After 3rd inning: Auburn 1 - Clemson 3 Packer with a strong line drive to deep RF uses her speed to make it to 3rd. Scores on a bunt single by Widra. Lowe gave up some hits but managed to get out of the inning without giving up any runs. After 4th inning: Auburn 1 - Clemson 5 Auburn's offensive woes continue. Tresvik had a nice ground ball down the right field line but Auburn couldn't move her around the bases. Clemson, with multiple hits, scores 2 more runs this inning. After 5th inning: Auburn 1 - Clemson 5 Auburn once again with 3 up/3 down. Auburn replaces Lowe in the circle with Widra. Widra walked one but got 3 outs without giving up a run. After 6th inning: Auburn 1 - Clemson 5 Clemson 2nd baseman made a spectacular jumping catch to rob Peralta of a base hit. Roach beat out a soft ground ball for Auburn's 3rd hit of the game but no runs scored. A couple of base runners for Clemson, and some hard hit balls, but no scores. After 6.5 innings: Auburn 1 - Clemson 5 CLEMSON WINS Garcia beat out a slow ground ball for a base hit but Auburn couldn't score any runs. The better team won today as Auburn's season comes to an end.

3 RUN BRI BOMB!!!!!