'A new chapter': Confident Auburn westbound for NCAA Tournament

'A new chapter': Confident Auburn westbound for NCAA Tournament'A new chapter': Confident Auburn westbound for NCAA Tournament
Cat Wofford/Auburn Athletics

'Rejuvenation': Two SEC Tournament shutouts boosted Auburn's confidence

AUBURN, Ala. – Gathered in the Tigers Den at the Harbert Family Recruiting Center to watch the NCAA selection show, Auburn celebrated Sunday night when the Tigers learned they're heading west to Arizona to play in the Tucson Regional.

Auburn (37-19), the No. 2 regional seed, will play third-seeded Colorado State Friday at 8 p.m. CT in the opening game, with host Arizona taking on Harvard at 10:30 p.m. CT.

"It's a very good bracket and we're going to have to play our best," Auburn coach Mickey Dean said. "But when you get down to 64 teams out of 300, you better be ready to play your best."

Auburn's advancement last week to the SEC Tournament semifinals with back-to-back shutouts from Chardonnay Harris and Ashlee Swindle boosted the team's confidence.

"It was almost like rejuvenation," Dean said. "It was nice to get back into a rhythm and to see some confidence and that spark in some of our hitters' eyes."

"We have confidence and we're more prepared now than we were earlier in the season," Swindle said.

"If you're not playing your best ball at the end of the season anyway then it doesn't matter," first baseman Justus Perry said. "We're playing out best ball right now and it's awesome."

Center fielder Morgan Podany joined Swindle on the SEC All-Tournament team, leading to the Tigers to wins over Missouri and Tennessee.

"We needed that," Podany said. "We struggled a little bit at the end of regular season. The start of the SEC Tournament and postseason is like turning a new chapter. The earlier part of the season means nothing once you hit postseason. It was really just time to turn the gears on and get rolling.

"We've got the grit, we've got the passion. What we did at the SEC Tournament shows that, so we're looking to make a good run."

Arizona, the top seed in the regional, has won eight Women's College World Series, last advancing to Oklahoma City since 2010.

"I've played them many times," said Dean. "They're a historic program. [Coach] Mike Candrea, everybody knows all the stories. I'm looking forward to it, I really am.

"It's a great place to go play ball. It's a great atmosphere. It's a neat town. I want our players to experience that, but I also want them to understand it's a business trip, and we're going there with a purpose."

"It's going to be fun, it's going to be challenging," Swindle said. "I don't really know much about Arizona now but we're just going to keep it simple and do what we do."

Auburn seniors Kendall Veach, Casey McCrackin, Bree Fornis, Makayla Martin and Podany hope to close out their careers in the same manner in which they began: with a trip to the World Series.

"This is a pretty special group," Podany said. "We're looking to have some fun in Tucson, a place that a lot of us haven't been, get to see the area, get to play some good softball, and hope we make our school proud."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer