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Softball Overcomes JSU, 8-5

By Patrick Dever / ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR | April 29

The Auburn Softball team welcomed south the Jacksonville State University Gamecocks on a chilly Tuesday evening.Auburn's bats, however, were not cold, as the Tigers scored eight runs on eight hits, downing Jacksonville State, 8-5.Auburn coach Tina Deese said she was proud of the team's determination during the game."I'm really proud of the eight runs first and foremost," Deese said.Auburn got off to a quick start as sophomore designated hitter Amber Harrison hit a homerun that just cleared the right field wall.Redshirt sophomore Angel Bunner was in the pitcher's circle for the Tigers.The Gamecocks scored two runs in the top of the fifth inning, bringing Bunner's night to an end.Bunner pitched four and one-third innings, giving up six hits and two runs.Senior pitcher Anna Thompson came in to relieve Bunner.Thompson gave up a two-run home run to the first batter she faced, Jacksonville State freshman Kelci Johnston, bringing the score to4-4.Deese said she was hoping her team wouldn't falter and get past the inning."You can't get a big enough lead at this point," Deese said.

Round His Track With Rosen

By Derek Lacey / WRITER | April 29

Melvin "Mel" Rosen served as head track coach for the Auburn Tigers for 28 years and has had one of the most outstanding careers of any Auburn coach.After completing his master's degree in physical education at the University of Iowa in 1951, he joined the U.S.

Intramural Playoffs Come to Close

By Derek Lacey / WRITER | April 29

Starting Sunday, spring intramural sports began closing up for the end of the semester, just like spring classes.Except it's not tests and projects due for the end of intramural sports, but the final soccer and softball playoffs.With names like "Cheezeballs," "Drug Dealer" and "Abusement Park," teams fight for the chance to become intramural champions at Auburn.After the regular season of five or six games, teams are ranked and placed into an initial four-team bracket.The playoff system depends on which league and category a team belongs to, and a team's record is not all that counts in the playoffs.Referees assign a point value to each team's sportsmanship during each game, on a scale of one to five.At the end of the regular season, the average of this sportsmanship score is coupled with a team's win-loss record to see if they made it to the playoffs.The sportsmanship points average is also used as a tiebreaker for teams that end the regular season with the same record.The last round of the playoffs will be held tonight.Winning teams receive T-shirts and a trophy, not to mention bragging rights.Brett North, senior in civil engineering, is the captain of the undefeated softball team "Cheezeballs."Without regular practice, North said the thing he likes about softball is the competition, that he can compete in a way he hasn't since high school.Another softball team that made the playoffs are the "Toon Squad," which is mostly made up of members of Lakeview Baptist Church.Nathan Douthit is a member of "Toon Squad" and said the most important thing for him is the chance to spread the gospel after the game."The most important thing for us is telling people about Jesus," Douthit said.Fraternities are consistently well-represented in softball playoffs.

Track Runs At Prestigious Penn Relays

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 29

The Auburn Men's and Women's Track and Field teams racked up experience for the SEC Outdoor Championships and three second-place finishes at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia last Saturday.Sophomore Marcus Rowland, whose 10.03 time in the 100-meter dash ranks as the best in the country for juniors, finished second in the event at 10.36 seconds."It was definitely a great experience for me to be able to run in the Penn Relays," Rowland said.

Women Tee-Off At Regionals

By Derek Lacey / WRITER | April 29

The NCAA Women's Golf Championship Committee announced Monday that the No. 3 Auburn Tigers women's golf team will play as the No.

Men's Tennis Beats Arkansas, Georgia, Defeated By Florida

By Bree Bowen / WRITER | April 29

The No. 37 Auburn Men's Tennis team opened up the SEC Tournament with a win over No. 64 Arkansas Thursday.Arkansas opened the match with a win at No.

Women Knocked Out of SEC Tournament

By Bree Bowen / WRITER | April 29

The 2010 SEC Championship was cut short for the No. 55 Auburn Women's Tennis team after defeat by No.

Molenveld Brings Passion

By Ben Bartley / COPY EDITOR | April 29

Young Myrthe Molenveld was a soccer coach's daughter and potential soccer star living in the Netherlands.Now, she is a tennis player at a Division I school in Alabama.Her winding life path began at 7 when she discovered her athletic calling."I saw everybody playing tennis around me and on TV and in the newspaper, and I liked what the girls were wearing," Molenveld said.

Inniss Learns Valuable Lessons at Nationals

By Jessica Shaddix / WRITER | April 29

For Rachel Inniss, Auburn University gymnast, going to the NCAA Nationals in Gainesville, Fla., was an unforgettable experience.As for going by herself and competing individually in the floor exercise, she said she was excited, but wished her team could have gone with her.Inniss was teamed up with the University of Florida and placed 34th in section two of the championship."(Going to Nationals) was a bittersweet moment because I didn't have my team with me, but I was representing Auburn," Inniss said.She said going alone was weird because she hasn't competed by herself since high school."It wasn't odd though," Inniss said.

Baseball Defeats Wildcats in Series Opener

By Davis Potter / WRITER | April 24

The Auburn Baseball team's high-powered offense was on display once again Friday night, as the Tigers pounded out 12 hits en route to a 13-6 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats (22-16, 5-11 SEC) in front of 2,662 fans at Plainsman Park in the first game of three-game series.

Softball Loses to Mississippi State

By Bree Bowen / WRITER | April 22

The Auburn softball team fell short in a doubleheader against the Mississippi State Bulldogs Wednesday night. "They were close ball games, and those are the ball games you like to watch because both teams are fighting for the win," said sophomore infielder Amber Harrison.In game one, the Tigers tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning when junior infielder Kelley Smiley hit the ball to bring home sophomore catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold from third base.

Auburn Conquers Troy

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 22

The runs flowed as freely as the 50 cent hot dogs Tuesday night at Plainsman Park as the Auburn Baseball team defeated Troy 16-3.The Tigers slammed five home runs in the game, two of which came from junior infielder Hunter Morris. Morris was 4-5 against the Trojans and has 13 home runs on the season.

Fradejas Wins SEC Player of the Week

By Blake Hamilton / ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR | April 22

After being named SEC Player of the Week April 12 and extending his hitting streak to 19 games against Troy Tuesday night, it's no secret that junior outfielder Justin Fradejas has emerged as a key component of the Auburn Baseball team.Fradejas earned the honor after his squeeze bunt scored the winning run against LSU Sunday, April 11.The win took the series for Auburn, which had not been done against the Bayou Bengals at home since 1998."It's a huge honor and, just to get it, I'm really excited," Fradejas said.

QBs Focus on Auburn A-Day

By Nick Van Der Linden / WRITER | April 22

Weather conditions were set and Auburn was once again ready for its annual A-Day game along with a record setting crowd of 63,217, which watched Blue beat White 21-17."We had a phenomenal crowd out there today," said coach Gene Chizik.

Club Tennis Closes Year at Championships

By Katie Ehrhart / WRITER | April 22

Eleven members of the Auburn Club Tennis team represented Auburn at the recent U.S. Tennis Association National Campus Championship in Surprise, Ariz.The event, which took place April 15-17, was hosted at the Surprise Racket and Tennis Club by United States Tennis Association, NCCS, Intercollegiate Tennis Association and World Team Tennis.Sixty-four club teams from across the country competed after qualifying at their respective regional levels.

Spring Spurs Lackadaisical, Lively to Action

By Ben Bartley / COPY EDITOR | April 22

Fall, football and crisp afternoons give way to pools, sunscreen and new activities spring semester."I like to go to Chewacla and hike down to the waterfall and kind of rock climb around there and go swimming out in the lake," said Courtney Dryden, senior in communications, "because I'm not great at team sports, sports with balls."A popular ball-less spring activity is flinging frisbee around campus."I like it, but I can't throw anything in a straight line," Dyrden said.Jessica Anderson, freshman in pre-nursing, said she enjoys throwing frisbee to relax, but she has never played ultimate frisbee.In her youth, Anderson said she enjoyed playing pick-up basketball."I was a tomboy, so I played basketball with the boys in the neighborhood," Anderson said.

Waller is Baller

By Crystal Cole / STAFF REPORTER | April 22

Losing a senior athlete's leadership is always hard, but the men's basketball team is about to say goodbye to its MVP.Senior Tay Waller was named the Most Valuable Player at the 21st annual Auburn Basketball Awards Banquet Tuesday at the Hotel at Auburn University.Waller was also awarded Outstanding Offensive Player and won an award for most three-pointers made in the SEC.Waller made 3.4 three pointers a game and was ranked fourth nationally.Waller said playing basketball runs in the family and looked up to his father as a great basketball player."My older brother always had a lot of friends over, and they were always playing basketball," Waller said.

Bathing Suits, Bikes, Blisters

By Bethany Donaldson / WRITER | April 22

The Auburn Triathletes placed 22nd Saturday after battling inclement weather at the National Triathlon Meet at Buffalo Springs Lake in Lubbock, Texas.This was the third year the triathletes competed in the Collegiate National Championship.The race consisted of a 10-kilometer run, a 25-mile bike and a 750-meter swim."This was my second triathlon ever," said Robert Bedsole, graduate student in mechanical engineering.