After dropping last weekend's opening SEC series against Georgia, Auburn looks to bounce back this week in Oklahoma City as a part of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic. This tournament is considered to be small, but what it lacks in quantity of teams, they make up with quality of teams.
Auburn will need to bring its best showing to win the tournament. There are four teams playing: Weber State, Northwestern, Oklahoma and Auburn. Here is some information about the teams Auburn will face.
Weber State University Wildcats
Located in Ogden, Utah, Weber State is currently 6-15 on the season. Weber State competes in the Big Sky Conference. Although the Wildcats have played 21 games, they have yet to play a game at their home field.
Weber State is led by McKell McCuistion who is currently batting .397 and has nine RBIs this season. Weber State had an incredible season last year, going 38-12, including 13-1 in conference play. The Wildcats may have stumbled out of the gate, but it is certainly not a team to overlook. This is the first ever meeting between Auburn and Weber State.
Northwestern University Wildcats
Located in Evanston, Illinois, the Northwestern Wildcats are currently 9-7 on the year and competes out of the Big Ten Conference. Northwestern went 45-13 last season with a 19-4 conference record. They are led by Jordyn Rudd, a catcher who is currently batting .333 on the season. She also has 15 RBIs to her name, which leads the Wildcats.
The Wildcats' record is deceiving to the eye as they have played stiff competition to start the season, but they are still considered to be a threat in the Big Ten. This is the third all-time meeting between Northwestern and Auburn with the last meeting being in 2020, when Auburn won 6-4. Before that, Northwestern won the meeting in 2003, 6-1.
Oklahoma University Sooners
Located out of Norman, Oklahoma, Oklahoma softball is a national brand. The Sooners are currently the No. 1 team in the nation and 21-1 on the season and play in the Big 12. Besides a major upset loss to Baylor, when they lost 4-3, most games have not been close. Beside the one loss, Oklahoma's pitchers have only allowed four runs one other time.
They are led by their first baseman, Jocelyn Erickson, who is batting an absurd .523 this season. Erickson has five home runs and 26 RBIs already on the season. The Sooners crushed almost every team en route to their second national championship in a row last season — finishing last season 59-3 and are looking to capture their third national championship in a row this season.
This will be the ninth all-time meeting between Auburn and Oklahoma with the Tigers holding a 2-6 record. The game will be a rematch of the 2016 College World Series Finals between the two.
The first game will be against Weber State on Friday, at 11 a.m. CST and will play Northwestern at the conclusion of the first game. Saturday, Auburn will face off against Northwestern at 1:30 p.m. CST and then Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. CST. Sunday will be the final game of the tournament when Auburn faces Oklahoma at 12:30 p.m. CST.
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TP is a senior from Montgomery, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @tp_hammock
