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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn softball opens season with Friday double-header

Freshman Riley McNemar looks on she prepares to take her place at bat for the Tigers.
Freshman Riley McNemar looks on she prepares to take her place at bat for the Tigers.

Auburn softball opens the 2022 season with a double-header against Seton Hall and St. John’s in the Tiger Invitational on Friday at Jane B. Moore Field. 

Auburn went 27-24 for a .529 overall winning percentage in 2021 and had a team batting average of .242. This included an SEC record of 7-17. While the Tigers had some close losses in conference play last year, they did pull off wins against No. 19 South Carolina, No.18 Missouri, Texas A&M, No. 12 Kentucky, Ole Miss and No. 16 LSU. 

The Tigers also had a disappointing conference tournament run last year, which they will be looking to fix when it rolls around later this season. Auburn was knocked out in the first round against South Carolina.

Auburn was then selected to the Tallahassee regional to take place in the 2021 NCAA tournament. However, after two disappointing losses to UCF and Kennesaw State, the Tigers' season ended earlier than they would have liked. 

“I think last year was kinda a kick in the throat for us,” said senior Aspyn Godwin. “I think the experience of making it to the NCAA tournament will help a lot. We know what we need to do. We know that we need to hit the ball better. We gotta help our pitchers out, we gotta help Shelby, gotta help Penta. They can’t just be shutting people down, so I think we are ready.”

Several heavyweights are returning to this year’s roster for Auburn. 

Pitchers Maddie Penta (2021: 2.78 ERA and a 9-9 record), KK Dismukes (2021: 1.50 ERA and a 3-2 record) and Preseason SEC pick Shelby Lowe (2021: 1.48 ERA and a 13-11 record) will all return for the Tigers in the circle. Dismukes is returning for her junior season while both Penta and Lowe are returning for their sophomore seasons. 

Other upperclassmen, such as the senior catcher Godwin (2021: .217 batting average) and senior pitcher Samantha Yarbrough (2021: 6.10 ERA and a 1-1 record), add experience and leadership to this fairly young team. With the nation’s No. 7 recruiting class, this team has the potential to go places this season with its mix of experience and talented underclassmen. 

Seton Hall will be the season-opening game for the Tigers and the first of the double-header. Last year, the Pirates ended the season with a 9-23 overall record and a 5-13 record in conference play. They did play a ranked South Carolina last year, but dropped both games to the Gamecocks. 

St. John’s is the second game of the double-header for Auburn. The Red Storm posted a final record of 10-21 last season and went 7-13 in conference play. Both of these Big East teams can play at the top level, so expect some good competition heading into the weekend. 

Auburn head coach Mickey Dean is focusing on having a healthy 2022 season for his roster.

“You want to make sure you’re staying healthy," Dean said. "So we’re working on getting some people back, they’ve had some pains going on. But I feel like we are on schedule at this point. We’ve been swinging the bat pretty well, pitching very well and getting better on defense as far as our communication.”

The TIgers will take on Seton Hall at 2:30 p.m. CST and St. John’s at 5 p.m. CST. Both games will be available to stream on SEC Network-plus. 


Emily Porch | Sports Writer

Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.

Twitter: @emilycporch


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