If you have ignored softball thus far, you have surely become inundated with the Auburn Tigers softball team in the past 12 hours. It is impossible to escape it. Have you considered why?
Maybe it’s because Auburn had not one but two Sportscenter Top 10 plays yesterday including Victoria Draper‘s immaculate catch. It could also be because Kasey Cooper, the best player in college softball, put Auburn back on top with her record-setting 20th home run of the season with a swing that Babe Ruth would have to wink at. Or maybe it was because of one of, if not the ballsiest call I’ve seen in sports to win the game in extra innings as pinch runner Morgan Podany collided with the catcher at the plate on a Whitney Jordan chopper to short for a walk-off win.
Regardless, Auburn softball’s popularity is soaring. Who could be softball’s biggest fans? Look no further than the manliest men on the Plains. Auburn football players have turned out in droves. Some, like John Franklin III have relationships with players, as he does with Haley Fagan. Some, like Deon Mix, are just awed by the play of the women. Deon has become a Twitter sensation with his live broadcast of critical plays.
Ooooo oh oh oh oh war eagle
#Auburn #Auburnsoftball #WCWS http://pic.twitter.com/uCCSnufkn3
— Deon Mix (@DMix_AU_75) June 6, 2016
Auburn’s softball team has given a loyal and pained fan base something to be excited about after the disappointment of men’s sports in 2015-2016. In a way, Clint Myers’ club gives fans everything they wanted from every men’s team combined.
The defense is as good as anyone’s, the offense can score at will, the players are relateable and fun, and the coaching is aggressive while rarely wrong. In a year where Auburn sports, especially men’s, lacked in any sort of big play ability, Auburn’s softball provided game after game of unbelievable play.
Jay Coulter and AubTigerman covered last night’s win and the Tiger’s first trip to the WCWS Finals in their own posts. Jay wrote of the symbolism behind the victory and AubTigerman penned how Auburn Softball got to the Finals.
Let’s look ahead to Auburn’s opponent, the Oklahoma Sooners, who punched their ticket against LSU late last night.
The Sooners are led by coach Patty Gasso. In her 21 years in Norman, she has been the Big 12 Coach of the Year eight times including the last four. She coached the Sooners to a NCAA National Championship in 2013.
The Sooners have a 30-game winning streak, the longest in college softball. However, OU has had an easier time getting to the finals in both the regular season and the post season. The Big 12 has just 5 teams ranked in the NCAA RPI Top 50. The SEC, which Auburn fought all year, has ten teams in the top 25. The Sooners began the year going just 2-4 against ranked teams before tuning up and winning out the rest of the season. They currently sit at 10-4 against ranked teams.
This match-up should be considered a home series for the Sooners. Oklahoma is 19-2 at home. Auburn is 12-3.
Unfortunately for us, OU has decided to take down their season statistics.
Like many teams, the Sooners employ a single pitching ace. In this case, it is Paige Parker. The sophomore from Independence, MO is a left handed hurler and is 36-3 in 2016.
Parker has thrown 371 pitches since Friday, 246 of those for strikes. She has gone the distance and then some: seven innings against LSU and Michigan before going eight against Bama. In that span she has allowed 24 hits and 11 runs on ten walks with 22 strikeouts. Underrated in those stats is that she has zero wild pitches nor passed balls.
Auburn hasn’t faced nearly as many lefties as right handed pitchers, but their 16-4 record shows they aren’t nearly as good against them. Keep in mind that many teams have pitched a south paw against Auburn, though that pitcher may not have been the better pitcher on the team. In this case, Parker is the best pitcher OU has and may be a top three pitcher in college softball. She proved that against Michigan, the top offense in softball.
Who else should concern Tiger fans?
Shay Knighten. The freshman first baseman is hitting an absolutely astounding .500 by going 6-12 in the WCWS. She has carried the Sooners by scoring four runs herself and adding seven RBI and two home runs. She has scored 11 of Oklahoma’s 17 points in Oklahoma City. She hits in the three spot just ahead of Sydney Romero, the sister of Player of the Year Sierra Romero. Sydney has gone 2-3 with an RBI and two runs scored against Michigan. Nicole Pendley hasn’t been on fire at every at-bat, but she has done the most with her few hits. She has a triple and a home run.
Auburn needs to continue to get out front early.
While the first inning was critical to Auburn during the season, the fourth inning may be Auburn’s most important. They are outscoring opponents 120-32 this season while adding nine of their 22 runs in the first inning of their WCWS games. The fourth is their second biggest offensive inning, but their worst defensive frame. In the WCWS, Auburn has surrendered four of the 13 total runs allowed in the fourth. The same could be said of OU, which scored the critical three runs in the fourth against LSU while giving up three of Michigan’s five in the fourth inning.
Furthermore, Haley Fagan is key to Auburn’s order turning over. It is unbelieveable that a player who missed the entire season could step into the designated player slot and be effective. Yet, Fagan has done far more. While part-time catcher and frequent designated player Courtney Shea added home run power in the bottom half of the order, she also added 22 strikeouts, good for fifth worst on the team. Shea also had the lowest on base percentage among starters.
While Fagan started off incredibly rusty, she has tuned up pitchers down the stretch. Of her seven hits, four have been doubles and she added a homer and six RBI’s. Her strikeout percentage is 1:10, as opposed to Shea’s 1:5. That’s going to be oh-so critical against Parker, who has 19 Ks in the last three games.
Who will Corey Myers send to the circle tonight?
Myers faces a tall task here, as four Sooners hit lefty but their power hitters are all right handed hitters. It would be best to limit OU’s white hot righties by using a right handed pitcher. Kaylee Carlson did shut down the Seminole’s in the eighth, they were pounding away at her and Makayala Martin, who gave up five hits. Additionally, Rachael Walters could be brought in to face lefties, especially in a critical situation where OU’s Aviu and Pendley may be up.
Keep in mind that Auburn uses a pitching staff and not an ace. While Gasso will ride Parker all the way, Clint and Corey Myers will manage each game individually. Martin is the closest thing Auburn has to an ace and game one is critical. Expect Lexi Davis to make an appearance at some point in the series.
How can Auburn win?
The most obvious answer is get into a high pitch count every at bat, especially early. No one is better than Cooper who has 69 walks and only 15 strikeouts. Emily Carosone (41) and Carlee Wallace (44) are very good at this as well.
How about the intangibles?
While the Tigers are a young team, OU’s best players are VERY young. The moment could become too big for OU’s top freshmen Knighten and Romero. Conversely, Auburn’s upperclassmen have been phenomenal under pressure. Jade Rhodes, Kasey Cooper, and Emily Carosone have been simply impossible to shake when the game is on the line.
However, errors will decide the series. OU had just one error in the WCWS, a throwing error by catcher Lea Wodach while turning three double plays.
Other than a rare Kasey Cooper error and a Carlee Wallace air-mailed attempt to throw out a base runner last night, Auburn hasn’t made any other E’s. Auburn has forced opponents to make errors in bunches having forced 10 errors from opponents. So the Tigers must continue to play error free ball while forcing the Sooners to make mistakes.
Tonight’s Finals begin at 7:00 PM on ESPN. Make sure to follow me on Twitter @Best5Zach as I live tweet the game!
The post Auburn Makes First Championship Appearance Against Oklahoma: A WCWS Finals Preview appeared first on Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog.
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