Feb. 15, 2018
Tiger Invite
AUBURN, Ala. - Fresh off a midweek win against the Troy Trojans, the No. 13 Auburn softball team is set to return home to host the Tiger Invite Feb. 16-18 at Jane B. Moore Field. The Tigers will begin play Friday at 3 p.m. against Delaware followed by a matchup with Saint Francis (Pa.) at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Auburn will play Maryland at 2 p.m. Saturday followed by another game with Saint Francis (Pa.) at 4:30 p.m. The Tigers will conclude weekend play on Sunday with yet another doubleheader against Maryland (10:30 a.m.) and Georgia State (1 p.m.).
The Tigers are 7-0 and have yet to allow an earned run this season entering the Tiger Invite, outscoring opponents 43-1. Six of Auburn's seven wins have been shutouts, including the first five straight, a program record to begin a season.
Wednesday against Troy, senior right-hander Kaylee Carlson threw four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just one hit to pick up the 50th win of her Auburn career. Makayla Martin added two innings of 2-hit ball, while Ashlee Swindle closed the final inning of the win.
Three players currently boast batting clips of .500 or better with senior Victoria Draper leading the way at .563, while sophomore Justus Perry (.500) and freshman Taylon Snow (.500) are just behind.
Draper continued her hot start to the season going 2-for-3 in the win against Troy. The Tigers welcome Delaware and Saint Francis as first time opponents while holding a 1-1 record against Maryland and a 16-5 clip against Georgia State. Saturday and Sunday's games will be available on SEC Network +.
An Auburn Win Would... A win by Auburn would give the Tigers their eighth-straight win to open the season, longest stretch since winning eight-straight in 2016.
Meet the New Dean... Mickey Dean has the best start through seven games of any first-year coach in program history (7-0). Tina Deese was 3-4 in 1997 and Clint Myers was 5-1-1 in 2014.
Stolen Bases... Auburn has already stolen 12 bases (on 18 attempts) through seven games this season, nearly half of the Tigers' total from the entire 2017 season (28).