April 3, 2018
No. 11 Auburn vs. RV Kennesaw State
Auburn Game Notes | KSU Game Notes
AUBURN, Ala. - No. 11 Auburn softball welcomes Kennesaw State to the Plains for a midweek game Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcasted live on SEC Network and can be heard on 95.9 FM.
The Tigers enter the contest at 33-7, 7-5 SEC while the Owls come in at 25-12.
Auburn is coming off their third-straight SEC series win, taking 2-of-3 at Ole Miss. Following the midweek matchup, the Tigers will welcome the 8th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers to the Plains for a three-game series Friday through Sunday.
Player to Watch: Alyssa Rivera
Sophomore Alyssa Rivera has come on strong in the batter's box as of late, tallying a .308 batting clip in the last 10 games played. The Eagle Lake, Fla. product hit three homers in the stretch, two in back-to-back games, and has also batted in seven runs. Rivera has posted a .731 slugging percentage in the last 10 games as well.
Quick Hitters
- A win by Auburn would be the 800th in program history. It would also give the Tigers a 25-1 mark in games played at home this season.
- The Tigers and Owls have met once previously in a 7-3 win last season on April 19, 2017 at Jane B. Moore Field
- Kennesaw State has won 19 of their last 24 games while posting a .311 team batting average and 1.79 ERA. This will be their second match-up against a ranked opponent this season (4-1 loss at No. 6 Georgia). Junior slugger Kira Czyrklis is the reigning ASUN Conference Player of the Week after batting .385 in four games last week.
- Auburn is 8-2 in its last 10 games played. The Tiger pitchers continued to dominate over the stretch as aces Kaylee Carlson and Makayla Martin combined for a 7-1 record. The Tiger bats combined for a .248 average. A pair of veterans paced the team at the plate as Casey McCrackin batted .393 with seven RBI and walked nine times. Alyssa Rivera belted three homers over the stretch with seven RBI and a .308 average.
- Senior Kaylee Carlson and junior Makayla Martin each rank in the top-10 in career wins at Auburn. Carlson is just one win away from tying the school record of 62 career wins.
- Carlson and Makayla Martin have led the charge behind the Tigers posting the third-lowest ERA in the nation this season at 0.94 trailing only Oklahoma (0.76) and Washington (0.88). That 0.94 ERA is by far the best in program history. The next closed mark came in 2004 (1.40).
- Junior Casey McCrackin has elevated her play to another level this season, particularly in the batter's box. She is batting .337 on the season, including a .393 clip in her last 10 games (11-for-28) with seven RBI over the stretch. She has totaled a team-high six dingers and leads the team with a .570 slugging percentage.