Feb. 7, 2017 AUBURN, Ala. - No. 2 Auburn is set to open the 2017 season outside the country in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for the Triple Crown Tournament, Feb. 9-11. The Tigers will face No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 13 Washington, Nebraska and BYU in the three-day event.
Auburn begins the tournament with two games Thursday. The Tigers' first game against the Sooners will kick off at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU. Later in the evening, Auburn battles Washington, with first pitch at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
Auburn's national ranking is the highest it has ever had to open up a season. Last year, the Tigers began 2016 at No. 4, which was a program-best.
The Tigers are coming off the deepest postseason run in school history. Auburn won a record 58 games en route to the Women's College World Series Championship Series, where it faced Oklahoma and battled the Sooners to a three-game series.
Auburn is led at the plate by three-time All-American Kasey Cooper, who returns for her final season. Cooper shattered a plethora of program records last season including 83 RBI, 21 home runs, 71 walks and 163 total bases. She also set Auburn single-season marks with a .581 on-base percentage and an .880 slugging percentage.
Key returners from the 2016 squad include Victoria Draper, Haley Fagan and Carlee Wallace at the plate, as well as Kaylee Carlson and Makayla Martin in the circle.
Following the four-game weekend, the Tigers return to the United States for 21 straight games at Jane B. Moore Field, beginning with SIUE, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m.
An Auburn Win Would...
A win by Auburn would give the Tigers their third-consecutive victory over the No. 1 team in the nation. Auburn would also begin the year with a win for the third-straight
season and 17th overall.
Auburn Season Openers
The Tigers have fared well in the first game of the year, going 16-3-1. In the season openers, Auburn has outscored its opponents 140-41 for an average score of 7.0-2.1.
Facing No. 1
Auburn has faced the first-ranked team in the country 15 times in program history. The Tigers are 2-13 in those games, but have won their last two duels against No. 1 - both coming under head coach Clint Myers.
Inside the Series: Oklahoma
The Tigers and Sooners have battled five times in series history. Oklahoma owns a 4-1 advantage, with the most recent matchup coming in last year's National Championship. Thursday's duel will mark the second time the two teams have faced each other oustide the state of Oklahoma. In 2002, the Sooners took a 6-2 result over Auburn in Miami, Fla.
Inside the Series: Washington
Auburn has faced Washington just three times in program history, including once since 2000. The Huskies have won all three meetings, which all took place in neutral site venues. The latest matchup in 2010 was the first time the Tigers opened the season against the No. 1 team in the nation.
Inside the Series: Nebraska
Auburn and Nebraska have shared the field four times since 1998. The Huskers hold a 3-1 lead in the series, with all three wins coming in neutral site tilts. In 2010, the latest series matchup, the Tigers won 2-1 behind the pitching duo of Angel Bunner and Anna Thompson.
Inside the Series: BYU
In two games in the series history, BYU has taken both decisions in one-run ballgames. The Tigers and the Cougars played each other in back-to-back days in 2011. Both contests took place at Jane B. Moore Field and were marked as NCAA Regional battles.
On This DateÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦
On Feb. 9, 2001, Auburn took down Purdue, 7-2, and Syracuse, 7-0, to highlight a 6-0 start to the 2001 campaign. The two wins marked the first of their kind in the respective series against the Boilermakers and the Orange.
National Scale
Senior Kasey Cooper and freshman Alyssa Rivera have already made an impact in 2017 on the Auburn softball program. The duo was selected to be on the USA Women's National Team for contests beginning in June. Cooper, who became the first Tiger ever to don the stars and stripes, returns to the senior squad for her second stint, while Rivera was tabbed to the junior team.
Tigers Open Season at No. 2
The Auburn softball program achieved another first when it was picked No. 2 in the nation in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll. The Tigers closed the 2016 campaign as the second-ranked team in the country after reaching the Women's College World Series Championship Series for the first time ever.