Jan. 5, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn softball team opened its 2017 campaign by hosting a pair of successful practice sessions on Thursday at Jane B. Moore Field.
"It was fun and nice to be out here," said head coach Clint Myers, who enters his fourth season at the helm. "We had a good day for weather; I just wish it would continue. The forecast for next week, when school starts, is supposed to be in the 60s, so we'll be able to get some stuff done. We're resilient and we adjust. We know what we need to do; it's just a matter of getting it done. [The players] know what they need to do."
The team worked through basic hitting drills in the morning and carried through with situational work in the afternoon.
"The first practice was very good," stated sophomore Tannon Snow. "We're bringing everything from the fall back into the spring. We're ready to get the ball rolling."
Snow, who transferred in from Washington, is one of the nine newcomers to the program and figures to play a key role in replacing the talent lost from last season.
"I feel great about [the newcomers]," said senior Haley Fagan. "The freshmen, there's a lot of them, they all bring a whole new dynamic to our team. We lost some great players - Emily [Carosone], Jade [Rhodes] and Tiffany [Howard] - but these new freshmen, they're getting the hang of it. Once they start clicking with everything, we're going to be just as good as we were last year, if not better."
Though it was the first day, the competition at practice heated up, something Myers was pleased about.
"There are lots of options and it's too early to tell," said Myers about filling out the lineup. "We know where we finished at the end of the fall. There's some great competition. It's going to be exciting. The first day, it's good just to get out and get it going. As we go, [the competition] kind of separates just a little bit. People start rising to the top and we just keep it going."