May 16, 2018
No. 16 Auburn vs. Kennesaw State
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - When No. 15 Auburn opens play in the Tallahassee Regional this Friday, it will be the first time since 2014 that the Tigers will be playing an NCAA Regional away from Jane B. Moore Field. Maybe they should be hosting. Maybe not. The fact is that they're going to have to go on the road and win if they want to advance.
First-year coach Mickey Dean knows that. He also knows what this team is capable of. Just look at what Auburn has accomplished this year.
1. The Tigers won 40 games for only the eighth time in program history.
2. They won five of the eight series against SEC teams in a year in which every team from the conference made the NCAA Tournament.
3. Victoria Draper broke the single-season record for stolen bases. Her 37 stolen bases is more than the entire team's mark from a season ago (28).
4. The pitching staff is posting the lowest team ERA in program history (1.32).
5. Makayla Martin (1.23, 2nd) and Kaylee Carlson (1.34, 3rd) have each posted two of the three lowest ERAs in school history this season.
"The game's all about numbers," Dean said. "And the number that most people want to look at is just the bottom line - wins and losses. When you focus on that, you don't see any process, you don't see any progress and you don't see any growth.
"But if you break it down, if you break the team down and break the individuals down, some people have put up some astonishing numbers."
There's another number that's easy to forget - eight. That's how many months Dean has been at Auburn, which means there was a short transition period where the players had to adjust to a new coaching staff, new philosophies and new work habits. That's not easy.
"They did all this with change after change after change and won 40 games," Dean said. "If you had told me when I got here in September, first of October, that we were going to do that, I would've said that's asking a lot for so much change. And so for me, I'm extremely proud of them because that takes a lot of courage. It's a lot of hard work."
As Auburn prepares to play in a regional, that transition is still ongoing. Change isn't something that happens overnight. It takes time.
But the focus now turns to the postseason, and if the Tigers want to move on and potentially play in a Super Regional or play in the College World Series, they need to learn how to win on the road. They played well on the road at times but struggled to win games. If they can figure that out, what's stopping them from getting to Oklahoma City?
Sure, this might not have been the path most envisioned Auburn taking before the season. Most probably expected the Tigers to be hosting a regional. But all roads lead to the same place. It doesn't matter how you get there.
"There's a process to get to where you want to go," Dean said. "There's a road that will get you there. Are you willing to travel that road? Because it's not always going to be a nice, paved road. Sometimes, you're going to have to go through some mud holes and some potholes, and you're going to have to take out the hatchet and cut down some brush.
"But it's your road. The question is - are you willing to travel it?"
For Auburn, their road begins Friday when the Tigers take on Kennesaw State. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT from Tallahassee. Brit Bowen and and Brad Law will have the radio call on 93.9 Tiger FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the TuneIn app. The game can also be seen on ESPN3 with Cara Capuano and Cheri Kempf on the call.
Quick Hitters:
- A win in Regionals would advance the Tigers to the Super Regional for the fourth straight season. The task will be difficult as the last three years Auburn played in front of a home crowd for Regionals. This would be the first time in program history Auburn advanced to Supers while playing away from home.
- This will be the second meeting of the season and third overall between the Tigers and Owls. Auburn earned a hard-fought win on April 4, earlier this season in what was both the program's 800th win and Kaylee Carlson's program record-tying 62nd win.
- This will be the second time Auburn will play in a NCAA Regional in Tallahassee. The first time? 2002 in Auburn's first-ever appearance in an NCAA Regional. The Tigers dropped both games as the 4-seed. (2-1 to FSU, 4-2 to FAU).
- Auburn has met the Gamecocks from Jacksonville, Ala. on 18 occasions, holding a 17-1 record in those meetings. Three of those games have come in a NCAA Regional.
- Auburn and Florida State have met 27 times with the Seminoles holding a 16-10-1 advantage, however the Tigers have won 7 of the last 11 meetings, including the last one - one of the biggest games in Auburn softball history.
- The teams last met on June 5, 2016 in Oklahoma City in the College World Series semifinal. The Tigers won in epic fashion in the eighth inning in 8-7 walk-off win. Madi Gipson singled and advanced to third on a misplay in left field. Pinch runner Morgan Podany scored 1 minute later for the victory. The win sent Auburn to the National Championship series vs. Oklahoma.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf