Every step the Tigers take starting Friday, May 15, is history in the making, as if they haven’t made enough already.
Starting with Tennessee Tech at 5:30 p.m., Auburn will fight in the hopes of advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals and defending their home field, where a sold-out crowd will watch every move.
Coach Clint Myers said the team’s practices seem to be running smoothly.
“Practice has been pretty good,” Myers said. “Are coaches ever satisfied?”
Myers said the batting order probably won't change.
“Do we need to?” Myers said. “We have a pretty good idea of what we’re going to face. I would say right now, it’s going to be the standard lineup.”
Although the batting order seems set, Myers said he isn’t sure who of the three pitchers will start at the mound.
“Everybody (needs to be) ready,” Myers said.
Compared to last year, when Lexi Davis faced Missouri on the pitcher’s mound single-handedly, Myers has three powerhouse pitchers to throw in at any given time.
“Having my teammates behind me gives me relief that I don’t have to throw every game,” Davis said. “I love being able to have my other pitchers help me out.”
Although the team has options, Davis said she enjoys working under pressure.
“I’m not going to lie, (pitching by myself) is tough, but I liked it, being able to thrive under the pressure, but I wouldn’t like to do it again.”
Overall, the atmosphere of the practices leading into regional play is mostly one of appreciation and excitement.
“It’s real exciting,” said infielder Kasey Cooper. “We still get to play, and we still get to enjoy what we want to do. After we won the SEC Championships, I’ve never seen (the seniors) so excited. We want to do this not only for Auburn, but also for our seniors.”
Cooper also said the Tigers are trying not to get too in over their heads with the recent success and instead, keep looking forward.
“I think we try not to get extra excited because it’s just another tournament,” Cooper said. “We try to see it as another game and take it one game at a time. The most important game is the first one.”
Bringing the regional back home has made all the difference for the eager Tigers, who understand how important their success has been for the program.
“There’s no reason for us not to come out strong,” Cooper said. “We’ve had girls out here 8 o’clock, 9 o’clock at night hitting because they want to get that feeling back. Being back at Auburn and on our field, it’s our home, our crowd, that’s the biggest advantage.
Compared to last year when Auburn played in the losing bracket, Cooper said the team has more of a motive work harder this time around.
“This year, there’s more of a fight and we’ve come back … multiple times,” Cooper said. “We have a swag about ourselves this year. This year, we expect things, we don’t hope.”
Coach Myers said he is aware the competition will be nothing easy.
“None of these teams here, will we be able to have the luxury of giving them extra opportunities to beat us,” Myers said. “So defense is truly going to be a key.”
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