The Auburn Softball team dished out two grand slams last weekend at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., last week, beating Texas Tech, Notre Dame and Wisconsin. The Tigers opened the tournament last Thursday against Washington, the defending national champions, but fell 5-0 Auburn's senior pitcher Anna Thompson recorded 13 strikeouts and made two hits, but it wasn't enough to lift the Tigers past the heat of Washington pitcher Danielle Lawrie.
"We thought we had it in the bag against Washington but things didn't turn right," said sophomore outfielder Krista Clyde. "We hung in with the best so now we know we can do that. Our hitting is getting back on top, we work great together and have great chemistry. As a whole I think we need to build up our confidence. It's kind of fallen off and we need to pick it back up."
The Tigers next faced Arizona State Friday but were unable to contain the Sun Devils' explosive hitting. ASU scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and went on to carry the day 142.
"I'm a leadoff batter so I need to get on more," Clyde said. "Unfortunately, I have to see more pitches so more strikes go by and I get lower in the count, so I have
to build back up." Auburn bounced back Saturday against Texas Tech, highlighted by Clyde's grand slam. The hit broke a one-run game in the fourth inning moving Auburn up 6-1, a score that would remain to the end of the game. "Krista's grand slam was a surprise," said Auburn head coach Tina Deese. "There's no doubt about that one. It's not often that your slappers get a big grand slam hit like that." Auburn played Notre Dame later in the day, scoring four runs in the third inning alone. Irish pitcher Jody Valdivia came into the game with an 18-game winning streak which was ended by such players as Auburn junior outfielder Caitlin Stangl, who went 4-4 on the day, tying a team record.
"I think, overall, in terms of building confidence offensively, the win helped the athletes," Deese said. "We saw the ball well, we put some runs on the board, we generated some offense and manufactured some runs just like we said we would do, so I think that, although we're not there by any means, it gives us a good, solid foundation."
The Tigers closed off the series against Wisconsin, pulling off theirthirdstraightwin7-0due in part to sophomore infielder Amber Harrison's first career grand slam. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the third inning, when Stangl and freshman infielder Kelsey Cartwright were walked to load the bases. Harrison's grand slam, followed by two fifth inning runs by Clyde and Stangl, gave Auburn the win.
"Coming off those first two losses it was nice to revamp and come out with a winning record," Harrison said. "I'm just excited to see where our team is headed this year. I think that we're going to do well in our conference."
After hitting the road against Georgia State yesterday, the Tigers open the home season in the Tiger Invitational Friday through Sunday against Ohio, Nebraska, Central Michigan and SIU-Edwardsville.
"I think that we have a much better understanding of where we were after the last three games than we did the first three," Harrison said. "We learn from the good stuff as well as the negative stuff."
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