Softball 2023-24 Offseason & Recruiting Thread

[Jad0003 414]

EIS went back to ties, but here are our 3 recruits for 2024:

 

[I_M4_AU 8,003]

 

 

[I_M4_AU 8,003]

 

 

[I_M4_AU 8,003]

 

 

[OlderWhiskey 963]

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.

[slot canyon 1,344]

Summary article from AU softball site:  https://auburntigers.com/news/2023/10/22/softball-sweeps-to-complete-undefeated-fall-season.aspx

[OlderWhiskey 963]

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.

[Golden Eagle 391]

Smith had a really nice hit in one of the games I watched in Montgomery (can't remember whether it was against AUM or ASU now).  So glad she has been able to successfully transition from being a slap hitter since officials have cracked down on batters being out of the batter's box.  With her blazing speed she will be an asset on both offense and defense and am expecting her to be a starter next year.  I also wondered about Tresvik.  Dean mentioned her ability as a pitcher several times during the spring and I thought we might see her pitching some of these fall games but that didn't happen.  

P.S. @OlderWhiskey  You  probably already know this, but you can delete your emoji and then pick a different one.  To delete, just click on the black circle with the white 'x' in it on the upper right of the emoji you selected.

 

[slot canyon 1,344]

33 minutes ago, OlderWhiskey said:

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.

Regarding Tresvik, seems I recalled CMD implying that she might see time in the pitching rotation but that has not come to fruition.  Recall she pitched against us when she played at North Carolina A&T.  Last season tied for 2nd on team with 9 HR and 7/7 stolen bases.

[OlderWhiskey 963]

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?   

[Jad0003 414]

I think I remembering reading somewhere Tresvik has a shoulder issue. She showed a lot of power and consistency at the plate towards the end of the season, so I imagine Dean will want to preserve her bat with the Widra, Rolfe, Clemmons, and Tamborra showing promise in the circle. 

I’d imagine we’ll see Smith, Packer, and Tresvik in the outfield with McCrary subbing in and out depending on Tresvik’s health. 

Peralta seems to be the only lock in the infield at this time, so I’m interested to see who wins out at the other spots. Roach performed really towards the end of the season, and Widra also performed really well this fall. I can’t imagine we signed Lech and Wohlers to sit either. 

Im excited to see what happens in February. 

Edited October 24, 2023 by Jad0003

[Jad0003 414]

The weekend of March 1 - 3 Northwestern, North Texas, and USC Upstate will come to Auburn according to USC Upstate’s 2024 schedule. We will play two games against USC Upstate (Friday and Sunday) but no other games confirmed against the others  

Northwestern lost 4 group of seniors who made it to Supers in 2023 and the WCWS in 2022, including their best pitcher and two top hitters. 

North Texas beat Oklahoma State and  Georgia Tech last year. 

[Jad0003 414]

Auburn will have two games against Georgia Tech and two games against Louisiana Tech the weekend of April 5 - 7. It is our off weekend in the SEC.

[Big Fat Barner 150]

18 hours ago, Jad0003 said:

Auburn will have two games against Georgia Tech and two games against Louisiana Tech the weekend of April 5 - 7. It is our off weekend in the SEC.

No word on a third team? Pretty strange that there are only two other teams coming for a tournament 

[Big Fat Barner 150]

We also have two midweek games versus Troy (3/6 and 3/19)

 

[OlderWhiskey 963]

6 hours ago, Big Fat Barner said:

No word on a third team? Pretty strange that there are only two other teams coming for a tournament 

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.

[Big Fat Barner 150]

37 minutes ago, OlderWhiskey said:

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.

Yes, i remember. And i know its not a real tournament, but on the GT/La Tech website it says “Auburn Tournament.” And we usually play three different teams for five games when we host invitationals/whatver they’re called. 

[Big Fat Barner 150]

Auburn will play two games versus Virginia Tech and games versus Illinois and Belmont to start the season. Loving the schedule for this upcoming season. take that RPI. 

[Jad0003 414]

Auburn to play UAB on February 28 and April 10 according to UAB’s schedule. 

[Big Fat Barner 150]

Auburn’s final nonconf. invitational will feature two games vs Longwood, two games vs Northern Iowa and possible games versus SEMO and Northern Illinois. 

[Big Fat Barner 150]

This is the unofficial schedule for Auburn this season (I expect a midweek game or two to be added)
 

2/9 - Virginia Tech, Belmont

2/10- Virginia Tech, Illinois

2/11 - Belmont

2/15 - UC Davis, Utah (PV)

2/16 - Wichita State (PV)

2/17 - Clemson (PV) 

2/23 - Longwood, (SEMO or N. ILLINOIS)

2/24 - Longwood, Northern Iowa

2/25 - Northern Iowa, (SEMO or N. ILLINOIS)

2/28 - @ UAB

3/1 - USC Upstate, Northwestern

3/2 - North Texas, Northwestern

3/3 - USC Upstate

3/6 - Troy

3/8 - 3/10 - @ Missouri

3/15 - 3/17 - Arkansas

3/19 - @ Troy

3/22 - 3/24 - @ Texas A&M

3/29 - 3/31 - Tennessee

4/5 - Louisiana Tech, Georgia Tech

4/6 - Louisiana Tech, Georgia Tech

4/10 - UAB

4/12 - 4/14 - @ LSU

4/19 - 4/21 - Kentucky 

4/26 - 4/28 - @ Ole Miss

5/3 - 5/5 - Alabama

[Big Fat Barner 150]

If Auburn plays SEMO instead of Northern Illinois, the lowest RPI team (from last year) would be UC Davis at 123. 
 

for reference, Auburn’s schedule last year featured 9 teams (12 games) versus RPI teams lower than 123. 

Those teams were:

Tennessee Tech (#297)

Bowling Green (#295) - 2 gms

Brown (#276) 

Merrimack (#257) - 2 gms 

Fordham (#227) 

Weber State (#198) 

Samford (#164)

North Dakota State (#132) - 2 gms

Dayton (#124) 

 

In terms of hosting, this is huge for Auburn. One of the biggest reasons we did not receive a regional host last year was the poor strength of schedule corresponding to RPI. Just thought this information was worth sharing. Excited (and anxious) for the season. War eagle. 

[Jad0003 414]

2 hours ago, Big Fat Barner said:

If Auburn plays SEMO instead of Northern Illinois, the lowest RPI team (from last year) would be UC Davis at 123. 
 

for reference, Auburn’s schedule last year featured 9 teams (12 games) versus RPI teams lower than 123. 

Those teams were:

Tennessee Tech (#297)

Bowling Green (#295) - 2 gms

Brown (#276) 

Merrimack (#257) - 2 gms 

Fordham (#227) 

Weber State (#198) 

Samford (#164)

North Dakota State (#132) - 2 gms

Dayton (#124) 

 

In terms of hosting, this is huge for Auburn. One of the biggest reasons we did not receive a regional host last year was the poor strength of schedule corresponding to RPI. Just thought this information was worth sharing. Excited (and anxious) for the season. War eagle. 

Northern Iowa has us their schedule, so I think Longwood tagged Northern Illinois instead of Northern Iowa. 

[all4AU 379]

On 12/13/2023 at 6:23 PM, Big Fat Barner said:

In terms of hosting, this is huge for Auburn. One of the biggest reasons we did not receive a regional host last year was the poor strength of schedule corresponding to RPI. Just thought this information was worth sharing. Excited (and anxious) for the season. War eagle. 

Yes, I'm glad the staff/schedule makers at Auburn finally got with it.  I know we have the metrics in place to host on paper if we do what we are capable of on the field. 

[AUBwins 10,088]

Finally the ladies get some luxuries. Nice work.