Auburn Softball Team Opens NCAA Tournament Play at Stanford

May 19, 2004

Kristina McCain

PALO ALTO, Calif.  - The 12th-ranked Auburn softball opens begins its NCAA Tournament run on Thursday when it faces Hofstra beginning at 2:30 p.m. CDT on the campus of Stanford University.

The Tigers (42-16) are the No. 2 seed in the while the Pride (34-19) are the seventh seed in the Region VII bracket. It is just Auburn's second trip to the NCAA Tournament while Hofstra is making its fifth trip in the last six years.

"We're excited to be here," said Auburn head coach Tina Deese after the team practiced for about two hours at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium on Tuesday. "The team had a good practice and seems to be ready to go this weekend."

In its only previous tournament, the Tigers went two-and-out as the No. 4 seed at the Tallahassee Regional. That season, Auburn dropped its opener to host Florida State before bowing out with a loss to top-seeded Florida Atlantic.

"This year's team definitely has a different attitude than we did a couple of years ago," said Deese. "They know what's at stake and what it will take to win this."

Hofstra entered the tournament as a No. 7 seed last year and shocked second-seeded Nebraska on the Cornhuskers home field. It was one of two tournament wins for the Pride last year. They have five tournament wins all time.

"We haven't heard that much about Hofstra, but their record certainly speaks for itself," Deese said of Auburn's first-round foe. "They've proven in the past that they are a team that can't be overlooked so we're going to have to come out and be ready to play (Thursday)."

Auburn enters the tournament with an at-large bid after finishing fourth in the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers have won a school-record 42 games this year and have been ranked for eight straight weeks.

"I think we've had a great season so far, but this is what we have been playing for," Deese said. "We feel like we have earned everything, but it's far from over. The players know they can still accomplish much more this season."

Hofstra earned an automatic bid to the regional by winning the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Championships. The Pride also won the CAA regular season championship for the third straight year.

Kristen Keyes and Sara Dean lead Auburn into the regional. Keyes is a Second-Team All-SEC and Second-Team All-Region selection. She has been the workhorse for the Tigers on the mound with a 27-10 record and a 1.03 earned-run average. She is seven strikeouts shy of becoming the 9th pitcher in SEC history to hit the mark.

"Obviously, everything starts with Kristen for us," Deese said. "She is the one that will carry us the rest of the way * she's our horse. Kristen has done a great job of shouldering that load all season and I don't see any reason why that won't continue."

Dean was an All-SEC and All-Region first team selection this season after leading Auburn in nearly every offensive category. From her catcher position, she has thrown out better than 40 percent potential base stealers.

Hofstra is led by pitcher Callie Osborne and outfielder Ashley Lane. Osborne was the CAA Pitcher of the Year this season with a 12-3 record and a 0.85 ERA. She is one of three pitchers on the team with at least 10 wins.

Lane was the CAA Freshman of the Year after leading the Pride with a .354 batting average. She hit nine home runs and 13 doubles en route to a .624 slugging percentage.

"Hofstra has some solid offensive players that we will have to deal with," Deese said. "You can't make a mistake against them or they will make you pay. We'll have to be careful with them, especially in the first half of their line up."

The winner of the Auburn-Hofstra match up meets the winner of the Fresno State-Southern Illinois game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. The two losers meet in an elimination game Thursday evening at 10 p.m. CDT.