Auburn Softball At SEC Tournament Preview
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Tina Deese |
May 12, 2004
Auburn is the No. 4 seed and opens the tournament against No. 5 Alabama at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night.
Head coach Tina Deese quotes :
On playing Alabama in the first round
"It's going to be a challenge. It's always a great game when we play Alabama and there is going to be emotion. I don't think we need to be in the SEC Tournament for it to be that way, but it certainly adds a little more pressure to the game."
On having not won at Tuscaloosa
"Alabama has had good teams in the past years when we've been there. But I think this year we have our best team and there's no reason why we can't beat them on their field. Of course it will be tough, but our players see it as an opportunity to do something that we haven't done in a while."
On the importance of the SEC Tournament
"I think every team goes into it wanting to win it. There's no doubt that it would be a huge momentum boost going into NCAAs if you can play well here."
Game Notes for the SEC Tournament
Tigers Head to T-Town for SEC Tourney
The Auburn softball team heads to Tuscaloosa, Ala., this weekend for the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Tigers earned the No. 4 seed for the event and will face off with fifth-seeded Alabama, the tournament host, in the opening round. The No. 4 seed is the highest Auburn has earned in the tournament in the school's history. The Tigers are 5-10 all time in the tournament with a best finish of third in 1997 and 2001. Last season, Auburn went two-and-out as the seventh seed in the double elimination event.
Auburn Ranked for Seven Consecutive Weeks
On March 16, the 2004 Auburn softball team made history. On that day, the Tigers recieved the first ranking in school history from the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll. Auburn came in at No. 25 after receiving votes for four weeks prior to that. Since then, the Tigers have fallen from the ranks only to bounce back and earn a top 25 spot for seven straight weeks. Currently, Auburn is No. 12 in the NFCA/USA Today poll and No. 14 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. The 12th-place ranking is the highest in school history.
Tigers Set School Record for Wins
At 39-14, Auburn has already guaranteed itself the best season in school history. Previously, the best season by a Tiger team was 38-27 by the 2002 team en route that earned the only NCAA Tournament berth in school history.
Auburn also made 2004 the best season in SEC play in school history. At 19-10, the Tigers had a winning league record for the first time and notched four more SEC wins than ever before.
Unprecedented Success
Prior to the 2004 campaign, Auburn had won an SEC series against a ranked foe just once in the school's history, a three-game sweep of Alabama in 2002. However, this year, the Tigers have won three series against top 15 teams, including back-to-back series wins over No. 7 Georgia and No. 13/14 Alabama. The other series win this year came in a sweep of No. 15 South Carolina while Auburn also split two games with No. 6 LSU. Overall, the Tigers have won 10 games against ranked foes this season compared to just 14 in the program's history before the year began.
SEC Tournament First-Game Jinx
Entering its fifth straight SEC Tournament, Auburn will be looking to end four-game skid in tournament openers. Dating back to 2001, the Tigers have lost the first game of the tournament each year and have been shut out in three of those.
However, this year marks the first time Auburn has been the higher seed in its tournament opener, having been a No. 5 and a No. 7 once and a No. 8 seed twice.
New Role for Tigers
On Thursday, Auburn will enter its contest with Alabama as the higher seed in the tournament. Only once in 15 previous tournament games have the Tigers been the higher seed entering an SEC Tournament game. On that occasion, fifth-seeded Auburn beat eighth-seeded Florida, 7-1, in an elimination game.
One Last Chance For Seniors
When Auburn arrives at the SEC Tournament this weekend, the team's seniors will have one last chance to earn their first win in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers have been swept by arch-rival Alabama in each of their last two trips to T-Town (2001, 2003) and are 0-6 there in that span. In fact, Auburn's has lost eight straight games at Alabama since last winning there in 1999.
Deese Is Last COach Standing
With the departure of head coaches Carrie Dever-Boaz of Arkansas and Beth Pruitt of Kentucky this past week, Auburn head coach Tina Deese is the only coach remaining in the SEC to be at the school where she began the program. Deese has been with the Tigers since the program's inaugural year in 1997. South Carolina's Joyce Compton has been with the Gamecocks since 1986, but their program began 12 years prior to her arrival.
Keyes Named National Player of the Week
Senior Kristen Keyes was named National Player of the Week on April 28 by the NFCA. She earned the honor for picking up a pair of wins over No. 13 Alabama and one over No. 6 LSU during the week. She no-hit the Crimson Tide in game one before hurling 1.1 shutout innings in relief of game two for the win. Against the Bayou Bengals, she held the nation's fourth-most prolific offense to just three hits to carry Auburn to victory.
Keyes is the first Auburn player to ever earn national player of the week honors. The award came just two days after taking home SEC Pitcher of the Week honors, which was her second of the season. She also earned that honor after no-hitting Troy State on March 2.
Tough Second Half of Year
After not facing a ranked opponent in its first 27 games, Auburn's schedule has become increasingly difficult. Of the Tigers past 26 games, 19 have been against teams ranked in the top 20 and seven have been against the top 10. Twice in that span, Auburn played six games in five days against a ranked team.
Against the Ranks
Auburn will square off with its 20th ranked opponent of the season when it opens the SEC Tournament with Alabama. The Tigers are 10-9 against ranked foes on the season, including 5-5 on the road.
Auburn has not fared well in its history against ranked teams The Tigers are 24-91-1 all time against ranked foes. However, this year has been Auburn's most successful against the nation's best teams as the Tigers have three series wins against ranked SEC teams. Here is a look at how Auburn has fared against the ranks (NFCA/USA Today poll rankings) in 2004:
Date AU Opp. Opponent Result POR*
March 27 RV 15 at South Carolina W, 1-0 Keyes
March 27 RV 15 at South Carolina W, 5-1 Currie
March 28 RV 15 at South Carolina W, 6-5 Keyes
March 30 RV 19 at Florida L, 2-1 Keyes
March 30 RV 19 at Florida L, 3-0 Currie
March 31 22 17 at Florida L, 11-3 Keyes
April 9 23 12 at Tennessee L, 3-0 DiPietro
April 9 23 12 at Tennessee W, 5-1 Keyes
April 10 23 12 at Tennessee L, 4-0 Keyes
April 17 22 7 Georgia W, 1-0 Keyes
April 17 22 7 Georgia L, 5-3 DiPietro
April 18 22 7 Georgia W, 4-2 Keyes
April 20 22 13 Alabama W, 1-0 Keyes
April 20 22 13 Alabama W, 3-2 (8) Keyes
April 21 19 14 Alabama L, 6-3 Keyes
April 24 19 6 at LSU W, 2-1 Keyes
April 25 19 6 at LSU L, 11-0 (5) Currie
May 3 17 2 Florida State W, 1-0 (8) Keyes
May 3 17 2 Florida State L, 4-0 Currie
* denotes Auburn's pitcher of record in the game
Phillips Gets Into Groove
After struggling for much of the season, senior Martha Phillips was taken out of the lineup for a game against Florida before returning to the lineup in the seventh spot -- a place she had never been in the lineup. Since then Phillips has responded by batting .296 and moving into the clean up spot. She has five doubles, two home runs, and a team best 10 RBIs in that span. She also scored the game-tying and game-winning runs against Alabama in the eighth inning of game two and hit a solo home run in Auburn's 1-0 win over Kentucky.
Dean's Season Is One of Auburn's Best
Junior catcher Sara Dean has one of the betters season's in Auburn's history this year. The Valencia, Calif., native is hitting .370 with an on-base percentage of .434 and a slugging percentage of .584. All three marks rank in the top five in school history. Her 14 doubles, two triples, 12 stolen bases and 18 walks are also among the school's single-season leaders despite playing in only 53 games.
Anderson At It Again
Auburn's career leader for stolen bases, Shannon Anderson, has been in midseason form since the year began. The Laguna Niguel, Calif., native tied a school record by swiping three bases in the Tigers second game of the year, against Illinois State, on Jan. 30. She has 30 stolen bases so far this year on 35 attempts. The 30 swipes is a new single-season school record. Anderson currently ranks third in the SEC in stolen bases and 16th in the nation.
Keyes Among National Leaders
Kristen Keyes has had a year to remember. She has already set school records in wins, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts while being on pace to break the records for earned-run average and batting average against. Her season also has her among the nation's best as she ranks 17th in wins while being 14th in strikeouts per seven innings and 31st in ERA.
Griffin Gets Big Hits Late In Year
Sophomore Ashley Griffin may have had only three hits in Auburn's five games against Alabama and LSU, but they couldn't have come at better times.
In a tie game against the Crimson Tide in the eighth inning, Griffin belted a double to the right-centerfield wall that plated Martha Phillips for the game winner. Then, against LSU, she laced a two-out single to right field that brought home Kristina McCain and Shannon Anderson for Auburn's only two runs in a 2-1 win.
KK, the K artist
Kristen Keyes is averaging 9.2 strikeouts per seven innings and has a season high of 14 three times this year. In the latest NCAA statistics leaders, Keyes ranked 14th in strikeouts per seven. She has struck out at least 10 batters 13 times. At one point between the UAB game and the Cal-State Northridge contest, she 14 consecutive outs came via strikeout and 19-of-21.
Earlier this year, she had a streak of at least one strike out in 30 consecutive innings and a streak of 44 strikeouts without issuing a walk.
Keyes a No-Hit Machine
Senior Kristen Keyes threw her fourth no-hitter of the season and the third since SEC play started in the opening game of the Alabama series. The Clearwater, Fla., native struck out 10 and walked four in the effort. It was her second no-no against a ranked team as she also no-hit No. 15 South Carolina. Troy State and Ole Miss have been her other two victims.
Keyes three no-hitters in SEC games is one more than the rest of the league's pitchers have combined. Prior to the 2004 campaign, Keyes had hurled just one no-hitter, a nine-inning performance against Georgia Tech last year, and Auburn had four in its history.
Just Call Her Clutch
If freshman Sara Ghezzi is feels pressure in tough situations at the plate, she doesn't show it. The freshman from Miami, Fla., has a pair of game-winning hits this year and a game-tying one. Her single against Sacramento State brought home two runs as Auburn began a five-run rally in a 6-2 win. She singled home Martha Phillips in the ninth inning at Arkansas for the game-winner. On April 20, she again plated Phillips, this time with a two-out single in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game against No. 13 Alabama. The Tigers would go on to win it in the eighth.
Currie Spells Double Trouble for Opponents
Freshman Holly Currie has proven to be a threat both in the circle and at the plate this year. The Pisgah, Ala., native is 8-3 with a 2.35 earned-run average in 20 appearances. She has 88 strikeouts in 86.1 innings and is allowing opponents to bat just .196 off her. She has thrown a pair of one-hitters this year as well.
At the plate, Currie is hitting .289 with nine doubles and four home runs. Her .463 slugging percentage is second on the squad while her 21 RBIs rank third.
Freshmen are Key Contributors
This year's highly touted freshman class has not disappointed thus far this season. Five freshmen have started a combined 210 games this season while freshman right fielder Sara Ghezzi has started all 53. Ghezzi is batting .242 on the year with two game-winning hits (Sacramento State, Arkansas) and a game-tying one (Alabama).
In the circle, Holly Currie and Beth DiPietro have combined to go 14-5 and earn three saves. Currie is also solid at the plate, hitting .289 with 13 extra-base hits and 21 RBIs.
Third baseman Kristina McCain and Lauren Walton, who have started 50 and 51 games, respectively, have been solid as well. McCain is hitting .269 and has drawn a team-high 22 walks. Walton hits at a .197 clip from the ninth spot. McCain had team-season highs with four hits against Wichita State and three runs against Georgia.
Defensive Prowess
The saying goes "Defense Wins Championships." If that's the case, then Auburn is in good shape. The Tigers rank second in the SEC in fielding percentage at .973 and have been even better in conference games, ranking second with a .977 percentage. The Tigers are currently tied for eighth in the nation in fielding.
Auburn has committed an error in just three of their past nine games. The Tigers also had a six-game errorless streak earlier this year, which is twice as long as any streak from last year. It beats out two five-game streaks from 2002 for the longest in school history.
Leadoff Success
Auburn has been wildly successful at getting the leadoff runner on base this year. The Tigers on-base percentage from the leadoff position is .364 (125-of-343). Kristina McCain, who was moved to leadoff spot two weeks ago, gets on at a .468 rate while Sara Dean is even better at .647. Getting on has translated into runs as Auburn has scored 55.2 percent of the time when getting the leadoff runner on.
Meanwhile, opponents reach from the leadoff spot at just a .287 clip against Auburn. Even when they are successful at getting the leadoff runner on, opponents score a miniscule 29.4 percent of the time.
No Hitting Tiger Pitching
Hitting Auburn's pitching this year is proving to be very tough for opponents. The Tigers have held their opponents to three or fewer hits, including four no-hitters, in 29-of-53 games so far this season.
Auburn is allowing its opponents to hit just .162 led by Kristen Keyes' .135 clip, which is second best in the SEC. The Tigers other two starters also keep opponents well below the Mendoza line as Beth DiPietro and Holly Currie allow .175 and .196 averages, respectively.
Getting Even
After taking three games from South Carolina, Auburn's all-time record improved to 232-232-1 as the Tigers hit the .500 mark for the first time since the third game of the 1998 season. However, being .500 didn't last long as Auburn dropped its next three games. Since then, the Tigers have slowly clawed their way back and are above .500 (245-242-1) all time.
Magic Number Five
Auburn's magic number since the beginning of the 2003 season seems to be five. The Tigers are 54-18 since then, including 31-6 this year, when reaching five hits in a game. Auburn is even better when scoring at least five runs. The Tigers hit the five-run plateau 30 times since the beginning of last year and won each time. They have won all 19 games this year when they have scored at least five runs. The last time Auburn lost when scoring five runs was nearly two years ago, on April 27, 2002, when it fell to Kentucky, 8-5.
Quick Strikes
Auburn has started the year by starting quickly on its opponents. The Tigers have scored in the first or second inning in 28-of-53 games so far, including 17 times in the first inning. In the first three innings of games, the Tigers are outscoring their opponent 107-36.
Comeback Cats
Auburn hasn't trailed often this year, but when it has, it has often found a way to comeback. The Tigers trailed UAB through four innings before rallying for a 4-3 win. Sacramento State led through five innings before allowing a five-run sixth. Birmingham-Southern held a lead through three innings only to have Auburn come back for a 3-1 win.
In SEC play, Georgia took an early 2-0 lead on Auburn only to have the Tigers come back for a 4-2 win. Three days later, Alabama opened up a 2-0 lead. Again, Auburn came back with single runs in the third and sixth before winning it, 3-2, in the eighth.
11-Game Win Streak Set School Record
Auburn had its 11-game win streak snapped when it lost to Ole Miss. However, the streak set a new school record, breaking the nine-game streak that opened the 2002 season. Earlier this year, Auburn strung together seven straight wins, which is now the third longest streak in school annals.
Shutout Streak Sets Records
Auburn's run of six straight shutouts was the longest in school annals and tied the SEC record set earlier this year by Alabama. The streak was part of a 52.2 scoreless-inning run that is the longest in league history by 11 innings. Ole Miss snapped the steak with a three-run sixth inning on March 21.
Pitcher Kristen Keyes is also familiar with scoreless inning streaks as she had a 41.1 inning run that was snapped against Ole Miss. The streak is the second longest in the SEC this year.
Auburn's No-Hit Day is SEC First
On March 20, the Auburn softball team did something no other SEC team has ever done. The Tigers no-hit a conference opponent, Ole Miss, in back-to-back games of a doubleheader. Kristen Keyes got Auburn started by striking out 10 without allowing a hit through seven innings. Beth DiPietro followed immediately with a five-inning no-hitter in which she struck out three and faced the minimum 15 batters.
Tigers Enter Uncharted Territory at USC
With its three-game sweep of South Carolina, the Auburn softball team entered a very exclusive club. In fact it's a club of one. The Tigers became the first team to sweep the Gamecocks in a series at Beckham Field since the league went to three-game sets in 2001. Auburn is just the second team overall to take three of USC in that span.
Auburn Wins Three Straight SEC Series for First Time
For the first time in school history, Auburn won back-to-back-to-back conference series. The Tigers swept Arkansas before taking two of three from Ole Miss. Auburn then swept No. 15 South Carolina for its third consecutive series victory.
The streak was snapped when the Tigers lost all three games of a three-game series to Florida at the end of March.
500 ... 600 ... and Counting
On April 7, Auburn's Kristen Keyes reached the 600-career strikeout plateau with her 14-K performance against Troy State. She is just the 10th player in SEC history to reach the mark. She also passed Arkansas' Rachel Tally for ninth in conference annals with her 609th strikeout.
Strangely enough, Keyes reached the 500-strikeout milestone against the Trojans as well. On March 2, she recorded her 500th career strikout in the first inning of a 10-K performance that was also a no-hitter.
HALF A HUNDRED
Kristen Keyes notched yet another career milestone on April 17 with her first victory against Georgia. The Clearwater, Fla., picked up career win number 50 in a sparkling three-hit shutout against the SEC's best hitting team. She also set a new Auburn single-season strikeout record in that game with her 212th of the season.
Dean Named Sec Player of the Week
In three games from March 27-28, Sara Dean batted .700 to lead Auburn to a sweep of No. 15 South Carolina en route to SEC Player of the Week honors.
The Auburn offense faced pitchers ranked second and third in the conference in ERA. It didn't faze Dean. The Valencia, Calif., native pounded Stacey Johnson and Aleca Johnson for a combined 5-for-8 en route to a 7-for-10 weekend. She was 4-for-4 with runners in scoring position. She tied a career high twice on the weekend with a pair of three hit games.
Dean earned the honor for the second time in her career having also won the award on April 1, 2002. She is the 17th player in conference history * the third from Auburn * to take home Player of the Week honors twice in a career.
The Record Breaker
Freshman pitcher Holly Currie has had a knack for breaking records in her softball career. By scrolling through the Alabama High School Fastpitch Softball record book, you will find the Pisgah, Ala., native's name 49 times among the career and single season leaders. She holds eight Alabama high school single-season records and 12 career records.
Her records come both in the circle and at the plate. She owns career batting records for hits, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, runs scored and walks. She also ranks second in state history in triples and third in batting average. Her career pitching marks are for wins, innings, strikeouts, earned-run average, shutouts and no-hitters.
Currie's career RBI record came at the expense of current teammate Paige Jones. Currie also stopped Jones bid for the single-season RBI record in 2000 when she drove in 80 runs to Jones' 79. Two years later, Currie set a new mark of 85 RBI, which still stands.
Deese gets 500th career win
Auburn head coach Tina Deese picked up her 500th career win on Feb. 13 when Auburn beat Austin Peay 6-2. Deese notched her first 286 wins at Huntingdon College in Montgomery before winning 214 at Auburn in her first seven-plus seasons. She is in her 16th year of coaching overall.
Auburn wins Tiger Invitational
Auburn won its third consecutive Tiger Invitational championship by going 5-0 in the tournament that included Furman, Evansville and Austin Peay. The Tigers beat Evansville, 8-0, in the final. Auburn won all three of its round robin games before knocking off Furman in the first round of bracket play. Auburn outscored its opponents 33-4 in the five games.
Keyes sets new Auburn Career Wins Mark
Senior Kristen Keyes broke the Auburn record for career wins on Feb. 13 when she earned the victory in Auburn's 7-0 win over Evansville. She entered the game in the fourth inning and pitched four scoreless innings to earn the victory. Keyes also owns Auburn career marks for innings pitched, saves, strikeouts, earned-run average and batting average against.
On the Radar Gun
Auburn's 1-2 punch in the circle of Kristen Keyes and Holly Currie is a powerful one. Both hurlers are known for power pitching and can throw some serious heat. Keyes has been clocked at 66 miles per hour with her fastball while the freshman Currie can hit 68 mph.
Those numbers are the equivalent to a baseball pitcher throwing 93 and 96 mph, respectively. Here is a look at how some softball pitch speeds translate to a baseball pitch:
Pitch Speed (43 ft.) Baseball Equivalent (60 ft. 6 in.)
60 84
62 87
64 90
66 93
68 96
70 98
The Newcomers
Auburn's recruiting class for the 2004 season is the most highly decorated in school history. Among the group is one Miss Softball, two Gatorade State Players of the Year, four high school All-Americans and one college All-American. Two of the newcomers have also been featured in Sports Illustrated. Here is a list of newcomers and their major accolades:
Lolani Alvarez (transfer) Easton first-team All-America
Co-MVP of Orange Empire Conference
Holly Currie Miss Softball of Alabama
Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year
two-time All-America
featured in Sports Illustrated (9/1/03)
Beth DiPietro Florida Gatorade Player of the Year
FHSAA State Player of the Year
Student Sports first-team All-America
two-time Miss Softball of Florida runner up
featured in Sports Illustrated (3/18/02)
Sara Ghezzi NFCA second-team All-America
NFCA first-team All-South Region
Lauren Walton NFCA second-team All-America
NFCA first-team All-South Region (2003)
NFCA second-team All-South Region (2002)
