SEC Softball Tournament: What’s At Stake For No. 8 Auburn

Auburn didn’t want it to come down to the last game of the regular season. But that’s what happened.

The Tigers went from being in a virtual tie for first place in the Southeastern Conference standings to, after a shocking four-game losing streak, needing things to fall their way on the last day of the season to even finish among the top four in the SEC and, thus, earn a first round bye in the conference tournament.

With Florida a lock at No. 1 and with Kentucky and Tennessee winning earlier in the day to secure the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, it came down to Auburn and Alabama for the four-spot.

The Tigers were able to salvage a game against Texas A&M — putting an end to the four-game skid — and Georgia knocked off the Crimson Tide, giving Auburn the bye and forcing Alabama to play SEC Tournament host Mississippi State in the opening round.

The Tigers will play the winner of Wednesday’s Alabama/Mississippi State game on Thursday. Auburn didn’t play the fourth-ranked Tide during the regular season but did take two-of-three from the Bulldogs — a disappointment considering MSU finished 3-21 in the league.

Defending their SEC Tournament Championship from a year ago will be far from the Tigers’ only motivation.

They will also be playing for senior Kelsey “Turtle” Bogaards, who rehabbed for months for an opportunity to take the field late in the 2016 season. In her first full game back, she re-injured her knee making a likely game-saving play in Auburn’s pivotal victory in the regular season finale.

“She played for one game. She possibly saved that game with that one double play. She saved it. Ever since then, we said, ‘Play for Turtle. Play like it’s your last because, for her, it was,” said the Tigers’ newly crowned SEC Player of the Year, Kasey Cooper.

And, then, there is the need to secure a top-eight national seed, which enables a team to potentially make it to the Women’s College World Series without leaving the friendly confines of their home park.

Auburn will without question play host to a regional at Jane B. Moore Field, but what not too long ago seemed a lock — the Tigers also hosting a super regional — is now in doubt.

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The top eight national seeds host super regionals (should they, of course, win their regional), and not only has Auburn fallen to No. 8 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll, but they’ve also dropped to that same standing in the latest RPI, which is considered the most important factor in the determining of national seeds.

What was once a given is now closer to a 50-50 possibility. To be sure, Auburn has little wiggle room.

While the SEC Tournament doesn’t usually play a huge factor in determining last-minute national seeds, it very possibly could this year — for Auburn.

Should Alabama, currently sitting at No. 3 in RPI, beat the Bulldogs as expected, the Tigers would have a chance to pad their numbers with an impressive win. Should they beat the Tide, they would then meet the No. 1 Gators, barring an upset.

And that’s all before the championship game.

The opportunity is there for Auburn to remove any doubt that they are worthy of a top-eight national seed. And they are more than capable.

As head coach Clint Myers would say: All they have to do is play Auburn softball.