Feb. 21, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. - No. 12 Auburn softball will travel to the west coast for a midweek game vs. Cal State Northridge on Wednesday before taking part in the Mary Nutter Classic Thursday-Saturday in Cathedral City, Calif.
The Tigers are slated to play Notre Dame and Wisconsin on Thursday at 12 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively, and will play San Jose State at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Auburn will then finish up with another doubleheader on Saturday against Oregon State at 2:30 p.m. and Long Beach State at 9:30 p.m. All times Central.
The Mary Nutter Classic features 34 teams, including fellow SEC teams LSU, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Missouri. Other teams slated to play at Big League Dreams are No. 1 Washington, No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 Oregon, No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 13 Arizona.
The Tigers are coming off another sweep at the Tiger Invitational, defeating Delaware, Saint Francis (2x), Maryland (2x) and Georgia State to improve to 13-0 for the fourth time in program history. Auburn is one of just 11 teams that remain undefeated in 2018.
AN AUBURN WIN WOULD...
A win by Auburn would give the Tigers their 14th-straight win to open the season, longest stretch since winning 15-straight in 2011 and 2012.
VEACH CONTINUES TO STRETCH IT OUT
Four of Kendall Veach's six hits this season have gone for extra bases (1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR). For her career, 30 of the sophomore's 48 hits (62.5 percent) have been extra-base hits (11 2B, 5 3B, 14 HR). Veach led the team with four triples and 12 home runs last season as a freshman.
FAST START
Auburn, who has outscored opponents 92-5, has started a season 13-0 for the fourth time in program history and for the first time since opening 2015 13-0. The best starts in program history came in 2011 and 2012 when the Tigers started 15-0.
DAZZLIN' DRAPER
Victoria Draper leads the nation with 13 stolen bases this season (13-of-15). Her 1.00 stolen bases per game ranks ninth in the nation. The senior was 18-of-20 in her career prior to this season with a previous career-high nine steals on 10 attempts last season. Her 31 steals currently rank 5th in program history.
1. 73 - Shannon Anderson (2002-04)
2. 42 - Ashley Griffin (2003-06)
3. 34 - Lauren Walton (2004-07)
4. 32 - Lauren Guzman (2009-12)
5. 31 - Victoria Draper (2014-18)
Draper has hit safely in nine of 13 games this season and has reached base safely in 14 straight games dating back to the final game last season. She leads the team with 12 walks, 14 runs scored, and a .667 OBP.
STOLEN BASES
As a team, Auburn is 28-of-34 on stolen bases this season, matching the Tigers' mark of stolen bases from all of last season (61 games). The Tigers currently lead the SEC and rank 23rd nationally in stolen bases per game.