Jan. 20, 2017 By Brandon Gann
AUBURN, Ala. - 2016 was a spectacular year for Auburn, and much of that stemmed the team's outstanding pitching staff. For 2017, the Tigers are poised to make another run at the Women's College World Series and potentially win it all behind the talented arms of returning stars in junior Kaylee Carlson and sophomore Makayla Martin.
An Academic All-SEC member and part of the All-SEC tournament team, Carlson will be relied upon once more as she was last season, having a team-high 22 starts to her credit. In 30 appearances, she ended the season with a 19-2 record, throwing four complete shutouts. With so many appearances, it comes as no surprise she also led the team in innings pitched with 130.2 and recorded 71 strikeouts in the process.
Martin was just as great on the mound, especially in the postseason where she was named to the WCWS all-tournament team and placed on the NFCA Freshman Player of the Year Top 25 List. In 32 appearances, she held a 15-4 record with four complete games, had 64 strikeouts behind 116 innings of work. During the WCWS, she did not allow an earned run against Florida State and Oklahoma in her two appearances, the latter of which was the final game of the championship series.
Auburn also has stellar players in reserve, ready to relieve or start when presented with the opportunity. Senior Jenna Abbott is another Academic All-SEC member and has made the return to the circle in 2016. She's made 17 appearances and has 12 strikeouts in her career. Not only a force on the mound, Abbott will continue to be a big bat for the Tigers, as she finished the season with 20 hits, including four doubles, a triple, and three home runs. She also is responsible for 26 RBI and crossing the plate herself 17 times.
Two new members to the squad are local standout Alexa Nemeth, who split time in high school pitching and at first base, and Ashlee Swindle from Curry High School in Jasper, Ala. In her time at Curry, Swindle garnered multiple Player of the Year and All-American honors, most notably the American Family Insurance All-USA team and the Alabama Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Brandon Gann is a student assistant with Auburn athletics communications