Auburn softball wins a feel-good SEC tourney championship

May 14, 2016

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Auburn's Tiffany Howard comes home to her happy teammates after hitting her first home run
Auburn's Tiffany Howard comes home to her happy teammates after hitting her first home run


By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Tiffany Howard promises she wasn't trying to hit a home run.

But when she swung, and the ball starting sailing away, things seemed different.

After 676 at-bats without a long ball, Howard put the finishing touches on Auburn's Southeastern Conference Tournament championship with a 2-run homer that helped the Tigers beat LSU 7-1 Saturday at Nusz Park on the Mississippi State campus.

"I wasn't really swinging for the fences," Howard protested. "The slap swing wasn't working. Try something new. Try something different."

Hit a home run.

"I knew it felt good," said Auburn's senior leadoff hitter.

Tournament MVP Emily Carosone, waiting to hit next, was impressed.

"You can't really top Tiffany Howard hitting a home run," she said.

The homer was part of a feel-good two days for Auburn, which beat No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Alabama and No. 13 LSU to win its second straight tournament championship. The Tigers got more good news when their inspiration, Kelsey Bogaards, flew into watch the game, a week after her second knee surgery knocked her out of the season after her long comeback from her first knee surgery cut her season to two games.

Auburn improved to 49-9 while making a strong bid to host both a regional and Super Regional in the NCAA Tournament, just as it did last year when it advanced to its first-ever College World Series. The NCAA will announce the tournament pairings and sites Sunday night.

Carosone, who went 5-for-11 with three RBIs in the tournament, drove in two of Auburn's four runs in a decisive second inning. The Tigers scored two other runs in the second on errors. Jade Rhodes drove in a run in the fifth. Howard's mighty blow came in the sixth.

"I'm jumping up and down when that ball left the yard," said Auburn coach Clint Myers. "Her college first one, in that situation, especially against this team, it couldn't have been scripted any better."

It completed quite a weekend that included wins over two Top 4 teams Friday. Saturday, it was Makayla Martin and Rachael Walters' turn to pitch well. Martin improved to 12-3. Walters pitched two no-hit innings to finish the game.


"We're very excited. I'm very proud of the team," Myers said. "I couldn't be prouder. They exemplify what we try and stand for: Good softball, great character, and I'm just elated. "We knew this was a special group of young ladies.

"We say we want to play our best softball at the end of the season. We're heading in that direction."


Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine