Auburn catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold is one of eight Tigers to hit a homerun this year.
At 17 - 2, the Auburn Softball Team is off to its best start in program history. The Tigers set a school record opening the season at 15- 0 before traveling to Oklahoma to play in the Oklahoma City Classic
When asked about the 15-0 start before the beginning of play in The Classic, Coach Tina Deese said, "It's nice to earn the recognition, but we have a lot to improve on as a team. We have worked hard to get those wins, but this isn't something to celebrate. We have a huge challenge in front of us."
The Ok. Classic proved to be a grueling road trip as the Tigers played four games in three cities including a double header on Saturday.
Number 24 Auburn first played 10th ranked Oklahoma in Norman on Friday. The Sooners broke open a close game with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the Tigers 15-0 winning streak with a 6-2 victory.
Auburn played a double header in the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on Saturday; defeating Illinois-Chicago in the first game 3-2 and then took care of number 19 Oklahoma State 4-3 in the second game.
The final game was played in Stillwater; with the Tigers coming out on the short end of another one run game (3- 2) to finish the weekend with a 2 - 2 split.
This team has been getting it done with great pitching as well as a lot of power at the plate; and their doing it with both veterans and rookies.
Freshman Morgan Estell of Mortimer Jordan High in Kimberly, Ala. is one of the new bright stars. She has an on base percentage of .590, is hitting .484 with two home runs, and a slugging percentage of .774.
Last years crew hit a season high 44 homeruns in 57 games. This year's team is bombing their opponents at such a pace that they may reach 60 homeruns by the end of the season. Eight players have hit home runs, and Kelsey Cartwright has four.
Auburn returns to action Tuesday, March 8, with a double-header at home against Connecticut at 2 p.m. and Florida State at 5 p.m.
If Auburn wins their next game they will set another school record for the most wins in the first 20 games of a season.
We said before the season began that this could be the year that Tina Deese's Tigers win the SEC. The season is only a third over and Auburn has already won 55% of last year's total of 31wins.
And it looks like the Tigers are playing with the confidence and swagger it takes to be successful in conference play.
Of course the real test of that prediction will begin when the Tigers open SEC play against Arkansas on Friday at home.
In the mean time these ladies are exciting to watch. Come out Tuesday to give them your support. Admission is free.
I'll see you at Jane B. Moore Field at 2:00pm.