Auburn Regional (May 15-17) at Auburn, Alabama
South Alabama (38-11) vs. Chattanooga (35-13)
Tennessee Tech (32-26) vs. No. 4 seed Auburn* (49-9)
Auburn enters the tournament as the fourth overall seed and just won their first ever SEC tournament. They will host the Auburn Regional May 15-17. The Tigers have had an excellent year thus far and have proved to be one of the best hitting teams in the country. Their pitching staff has also taken a major step forward from last season and has played a big role in their success. The Tigers have raised their team batting average nearly 50 points from last season and have seen an increase in nearly every offensive category. Junior Emily Carosone is hitting at a .482 clip with 17 home runs. Two other Tigers have an average above .400 in junior Tiffany Howard (.446) and sophomore Kasey Cooper (.401). Cooper has also hit 17 home runs on the season. It is interesting that statistically their pitching staff is pretty much on par with the 2014 numbers, but their results have been different. The Tigers have used three pitchers evenly in junior Rachael Walters (17-3, 2.98 ERA), Junior Marcy Harper (11-4, 3.57 ERA) and Lexi Davis (21-2, 4.14). The improved offense of the Tigers has benefited the pitching staff.
Facing Auburn in the first game will be Tennessee Tech (32-26). The Golden Eagles are fresh off their Ohio Valley Conference championship. Their top hitter is sophomore Alyssa Richards who has a current slash line of .345/.442/.590. Pitching for them has been decent with a combined 3.64 ERA. They have gave up a fair amount of home runs (51) this season. That could cause some problems against the Auburn line-up. Look for Auburn to move forward.
The second game will feature South Alabama (38-11) and Chattanooga (35-13). South Alabama is riding high after winning the Sun Belt by defeating Louisiana Lafayette in the conference tournament. They have come on as of late mostly behind solid pitching and timely hits. Sophomore Chloe Rathburn leads the Jaguars in hitting with a .381 average and 50 RBI. They have used three pitchers consistently this season in freshman Kalen McGill (16-3, 1.97 ERA), senior Farish Beard (11-4, 2.47) and freshman Devin Brown (10-4, 3.09).
Chattanooga did a get a win 3-1 over South Alabama back in February. They come into the tournament batting .292 as a team. The top hitter is senior Sara Beth Roberts who has a current slash of .380/.456/.679. Pitching was pretty much split on the season between senior Taylor Deason (15-5, 2.73) and freshman Cori Jennings (14-6, 2.75). As stated they do have that win over USA earlier in the season, but looking at the past month or so USA may be a better team than they were back in February, this should be a great game and one we see USA coming out of.
Auburn is in the driver’s seat with their potent offense. The only team that may push them is South Alabama if their pitching is on.
