Auburn Selected To Host NCAA Softball Regional

Auburn Selected To Host NCAA Softball Regional

May 15, 2005
              
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn is one of 16 institutions selected to host a 2005 NCAA Division I Softball Regional, the NCAA Division I Softball Committee announced Sunday. The Auburn Regional will be played at Jane B. Moore Field on the Auburn University campus, May 20-22.  It marks the first time in program history that Auburn has hosted a softball regional.

Auburn will be the second seed in the regional and will face third-seed Florida State on Friday at 5 p.m. CT.  Baylor, the first seed in the regional and 15th seed overall in the 64-team field will face fourth-seed Florida A&M Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT.

"I think this is a great step for our program," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "Hopefully, this will prove to be a good thing as our girls have played well in front of the home crowd all season. We are looking forward to the opportunity."

The Tigers will be making their second-consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and third in the last four years. Auburn finished the regular season with a program-record 49-16 record, including a 21-8 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers have a 25-3 record at Jane B. Moore Field this season, the most wins at home in school history.

Auburn's two previous appearances in an NCAA Regional came in 2002 at Tallahassee, Fla., and last season at Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif.

Joining Auburn from the Southeastern Conference as host sites include Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

The remaining host institutions include Arizona, California, Michigan, Northwestern, Oklahoma Oregon State, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, and Washington.

All-session ticket books may be ordered by phone at 1-800-AUB-1957, ext. 1, or in person at the Auburn Athletic Ticket Office on the second floor of Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., beginning Monday.

All-session ticket books are $25 for adult reserved seats, $15 for adult general admission and $10 for students.

Single-game tickets for the NCAA Auburn Regional will go on sale Friday, May 20 at 1 p.m. at the Auburn Ticket Office at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Tickets will also be available at the Jane B. Moore Field box office prior to each game. Single-game tickets are $7 for adult reserved, $5 for adult general admission and $3 for students.

Quoting Auburn Softball Players, Head Coach Tina Deese

Auburn Head Coach Tina Deese

On hosting a regional for the first time *
"I think this is a great step for our program. Hopefully, this will prove to be a good thing as our girls have played well in front of the home crowd all season. We are looking forward to the opportunity."

On the field of the Auburn Regional*
"We have a really strong field if you look at it across the board. If you look at the rest of the matches, I think our regional is one of the toughest with Florida State and Baylor."

On the Regional's No. 1 seed Baylor*
"Baylor is going to be a tough Big 12 opponent. They play solid ball throughout their Big 12 schedule. They have two good pitchers as well as a fast, speedy offense. We've got our hands full."

On the SEC Tournament*
"It's a tournament setting, and I think we gave significant effort. I don't think we shut down offensively - we just haven't been as powerful as we have been. We're going to make sure and look at that and make sure we are doing the right things that are necessary to be at the top of our offensive game. We are going to have to be solid defensively. I think that the kids are motivated. The SEC tournament is a tough tournament, and your objective going in is to win it. We played really good ball, but we just got out-hit in a couple of matchups."

Auburn Second Baseman Lolani Alvarez

On hosting a Regional...
"All week, we have been praying and crossing our fingers and hoping that things would work out good for us. I'm sure that as the days progress we will be more and more excited to know that we are going to have our home crowd behind us."

On playing in front of the home crowd...
"We have a great opportunity. It's one thing if you're traveling somewhere and you know you will be facing a big opponent, but as a senior to be able to have this opportunity to go out and play with the home crowd behind us is a very big deal to us."

On the SEC Tournament...
"It's a little disappointing. We knew that it wouldn't be easy heading into it. We knew that both Alabama and Georgia were going to be really tough to beat. When it came down to it, they just outplayed us. We should have played better defensively. We are going to try to bounce back, and hopefully this weekend will be our weekend."

Auburn Catcher Sara Dean

On hosting the regional *
"We are really excited. Being able to play on your own field and being able to be recognized as one of the top teams in the country. Not just anybody hosts a regional and, even though we're seeded No. 2, it's awesome to be able to play in front of our home fans."

On Auburn's pitching staff*
"Last year, it was all KK (Kristen Keyes). This year, we have had Beth (DiPietro) and Holly (Currie) having to step up because they're all we have. There's no one to come in and clean up their mess. Since last year, they've definitely taken on the leadership roles as sophomores. If we are losing, they've been good enough to keep us within a swing of the bat. We've been playing well enough offensively that it's usually good enough for us to get a win."