Auburn, Alabama to meet in Tuscaloosa for first time in four years
There are 44 players listed on Auburn and Alabama’s rosters combined. Not one girl on either team has played the other in a regular season game at Rhoades Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
Despite this being one of the biggest rivalries in college athletics, the Southeastern Conference has a rotating schedule because of the odd number of teams. In fact, the teams didn’t play a regular season game against each other at all last year and the last time Auburn visited Alabama was in 2013.
“Emily Carosone came into the office and I was talking to her and asking her questions because nobody associated with our program has ever been to Tuscaloosa to play a game,” said Auburn head coach Clint Myers. “I’m anxious to see what’s going to happen and how it is. They are anticipating between three and four thousand people there so that’s going to be pretty awesome.”
According to Auburn’s roster, the Tigers have 13 players from the state of Alabama. The Crimson Tide has eight.
“Growing up in Alabama, I’ve been to their stadium and seen games there but I’ve never played there,” said Auburn senior Sydne Waldrop. “I’ve seen the atmosphere and I’ve grown up with the rivalry so it’s really cool that my last year and last series ever (regular season) that’s where we are going to be playing.”
The Crimson Tide is 45-18 all-time against the Tigers, 26-6 at home. Since their first meeting in 1997, Auburn has never won a series in Tuscaloosa.
“It’s going to be a tremendous series,” said Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy. “It’s been a long time since they’ve been here and obviously fans from both schools are looking forward to it… It’s the biggest ticket in town.”
Alabama enters this weekend having lost six of its last 10 while Auburn has won nine of its previous 10. The Tigers have outscored their opponents 52-19 while the Tide has outscored its opponents 29-19.
“Auburn is a very strong-willed, good hitting team,” said Alabama senior Sydney Littlejohn. “They’re a bunch of good hitters, they’re going to be tough. We know they are going to hit the ball so we are going to do our best to make them hit it right at people. Maybe trick them a little bit, maybe a couple swings and misses. We are just going to try to bring our best game.”
The series has SEC Tournament implications. Auburn is currently the No. 3 seed and has clinched a first-round bye. The Tigers could rise to No. 2 or fall to No. 4. Alabama is currently the No. 5 seed and that is the best position it can finish but it could fall to No. 7 if things don’t go the Tide’s way.
“This series is very critical for us,” said Littlejohn. “We may not be where we want to be exactly but we can still control our own destiny and when better to have such a defining moment of a season in our last regular season series against one of the best SEC teams and one of our biggest rivals.”
