The way that Auburn played in the SEC Tournament, winning two games to make the semifinals — was a “rejuvenation" according to head coach Mickey Dean. They’ll hope to carry that momentum into the NCAA Tournament, where Auburn will play Colorado State on Friday in Tuscon, Arizona. The host Wildcats will face No. 4 seed Harvard. “There’s no hiding it,” Dean said after his team was selected on Sunday night. “We were struggling offensively. And we were putting a lot of pressure on our pitchers. ... I think with our offense opening up a little bit, we’re back on track. We’re not where we wanna be." The Tigers will be playing away from home in the NCAA Tournament regionals for the second-straight season. AU lost in Tallahassee last year. AU enters the postseason struggling mightily on offense. The team had entered the SEC Tournament having lost 10-of-11 games in the conference, and scoring just 14 runs in those 11 games. Dean said at times, it’s been a struggle to keep everyone together. “You’re dealing with something that’s a confidence, and it’s a mental thing, and so it can become a little more difficult," Dean said. "And you have to be careful with the words you choose to use. And even when a player is struggling, you’ve got to somehow find a way to continue to give them confidence.” Still, Auburn came out and won the first two games of the SEC Tournament as a No. 10 seed. They beat No. 7 seed Missouri and No. 2 seed Tennessee, before losing to eventual SEC champion Florida in the semifinals. The Wildcats are the No. 6 national seed, and enter the regional at 42-12. They have lost 4-of-6 entering the postseason. CSU, Auburn’s first opponent, is 38-10. They too, though, are just 9-6 in their last 15 games. CSU has hit 61 homers this season, and allowed just 22. AU doesn’t know if it will have Taylon Snow, who was injured in the SEC Tournament. Ace starter Makayla Martin also appears to remain out. The team gathered inside a TV room at Jordan-Hare Stadium to watch the selection show, and feasted on Country Barbecue, while UFC played on the televisions around the room on ESPN2, before the show started. There were oo’s every time an SEC team was picked. And the entire team looked back at Dean when James Madison was selected as a No. 2 seed, despite being projected to host a regional. Dean was a legendary head coach at JMU before coming to Auburn. But now, the focus is on Auburn, as they try and make an improbable run in the NCAA Tournament. “We came off a really good weekend, especially for the SEC Tournament," said starting pitcher Ashlee Swindle. "We were really clicking. Pitching came together. Hitting came together. Defense was great. I think we have good momentum going into the regional tournament.”<doc-sep>Auburn softball is entering the NCAA Tournament having lost 11 of the last 14 SEC games. Luckily for the Tigers, they’ll be facing a Mountain West opponent that is 9-6 in its last 15 games, but has a 20-game winning streak this season. The Tigers are in their 6th straight NCAA Tournament, and Colorado State is playing for just the third time. No. 6 seed Arizona will face Harvard afterward in the Tucson regional. Follow along below for live updates throughout the evening. Live Updates: • Harris finishes things off to complete the comeback and get Auburn a 10-5 win. • Mackenna Dowell with another RBI, she has a double to get Auburn a 10-5 lead. Best offensive performance in months for this team. • With Harris back in the game, she comes in and gets the final two outs. It’s 9-5, Auburn in the middle of the 5th inning. • A very scary moment as Ashlee Swindle takes a batted ball back into her face. Trainers and team are out. Colorado State does a team prayer. She’s being taken off on a cart. • Dowell has her 6th RBI of the season on an RBI groundout. 8-5, Auburn. • Auburn’s offense not done yet. They have the bases loaded and just one out. • Tannon Snow hits her 14th home run of the season, and Auburn is up 7-5. • Alyssa Rivera is now a triple shy of the cycle here in the fourth inning. • Podany has an RBI single on the infield and Auburn has tied the game 5-5. The pitching isn’t getting it done, but the offense is. • Pinch hitter Aspyn Godwin, in just her 39th at-bat of the season, has an RBI fielder’s choice. Auburn down just 5-4 in the third. • Auburn has two runners on base here in the third via a HBP and a single. Justus Perry was hit for the 16th time this season. No one else has been hit more than 4 times for Auburn. • Swindle gives Auburn its first scoreless pitching frame of the night. The Tigers need a stabilizing effort if they’re going to have a chance. • Alyssa Rivera is 2-for-2 with a home run and a double. • Auburn’s pitching has been not strong tonight. CSU scores two more and Harris is pulled. The Rams leave a runner at third, though. • Auburn has come back to tie the game in the first inning. • Alyssa Rivera hits a two-run homer to make it 3-2. • Harris allows a second home run so it’s 3-0. • A horrendous start for Auburn. A four-pitch walk, then a two-run homer for Colorado State. 2-0. • Chardonnay Harris will be the starting pitcher for Auburn to start things off. She had a shutout of Missouri in the SEC Tournament, and has a shutout of Tennessee and a 10-inning win against Florida to her ledger this season.<doc-sep>The best chance for Auburn came in the third inning, when it had the bases loaded and one out. The most productive hitters all season, Tannon Snow and Kendall Veach were up. Suddenly, a path to an upset. A path toward a Super Regional, started to look like it was possible. But Snow struck out, for the second of three on the day. Veach didn’t add to her 48 RBIs on the season, and the Tigers went quietly instead of capitalizing. It was the one true threat for the Tigers, and outside of that, it was a forgettable offensive game as the Tigers lost 2-1. The loss puts Auburn within one loss of elimination. It also keeps the Tigers at the ballpark. They’ll face either Colorado State or Harvard at 10 p.m., needing a win to keep their season alive. If they do get a win, then Auburn would need to defeat Arizona twice tomorrow to advance to a Super Regional. Lexie Handley gave an admirable performance under the circumstances. With Chardonnay Harris needing rest and Ashlee Swindle out with a concussion, Handley, AU’s least-used pitcher, was tasked with the start against one of the best offensive teams in college softball. She got out of a second and third, one-out jam in the second inning. But in the fourth, the same fate was not to be had, as a two-run single broke open the scoreless tie. After scoring 10 runs on Friday to break out of an offensive slump, Auburn’s dramatic and historic offensive woes that befell them toward the end of the season reemerged. AU only got a run on a Bree Fornis homer to leadoff the seventh inning. She had two hits in this game after having just two hits during the entire SEC season. But her offense wasn’t enough, as Casey McCrackin, who also had two hits, popped up with a runner on first to end the game.<doc-sep>The good vibes of Auburn’s softball comeback suddenly ceased. The players on both teams were in a stunned silence as AU pitcher Ashlee Swindle lay on the ground in the circle. She’d been hit in the forehead by a line drive, and suddenly the the biggest game of the season didn’t feel so big. The CSU team all gathered in a circle to pray, and so did Auburn. Swindle was carted off on the field. Her condition isn’t known and an Auburn team spokesman didn’t respond to a request for an update on her condition. Auburn would finish off an impressive comeback, winning 10-5 over the Rams to open up the NCAA Tournament. They’ll face the winner of top-seeded Arizona and No. 4 seed Harvard on Saturday. Swindle wasn’t slated to pitch on Friday. Her presence was needed after starter Chardonnay Harris was ineffective in her first inning of work, allowing five runs. Head coach Mickey Dean decided a change was needed. She provided a calming presence. She pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, and would have done more. It was Harris that came back in to relieve Swindle, and was effective in her second go-round. On offense, it was Alyssa Rivera that provided the thunder. After Harris allowed two home runs in the first inning, it was Rivera that came right back with a two-run homer. She finished 4-for-4 with a homer, double and two singles. Tannon Snow gave Auburn its first lead in the fourth inning with a long two-run homer to dead center field. Mackenna Dowell, who had five RBIs coming into the game, had two more in this game. Every batter outside of Morgan Podany had at least one hit. The offensive boost was welcomed for Auburn, which had been in a massive offensive lull. Auburn hadn’t scored more than four runs in a game since April 12. The 10 runs had last happened on April 6. The Tigers batted just .144 over their last 11 SEC regular season games. Auburn finally put up some crooked numbers in this game. But undoubtedly, the thoughts after this game will be on the health of Swindle. Harris will be asked to pitch more if she cannot return this weekend, and so too will Lexie Handley. Swindle was helped to her feet, and covered her face as she was taken off the field. She wasn’t able to finish the game, but she was a huge part of why the Tigers won it.<doc-sep>
No. 2 seed Auburn will face No. 1 seed Arizona in Tucson on Saturday at 5 p.m., for the right to go to the regional final. It’s an incredibly important game for the Tigers. If they win, they’ll need to win just one-of-two games on Sunday to make it to a Super Regional. If they lose, they’ll come back at 10 p.m. Saturday to face either Colorado State or Harvard, needing to win three game in a row to advance. Auburn will have to do it all without Ashlee Swindle. AU’s likely starting pitcher for Saturday was hit with a line drive in the head on Friday, and had a concussion. The Wildcats are the No. 6 team in the country and one of the best power-hitting teams in America, coming into the Tournament with 99 on the season. Follow along below for live updates. Live Updates: • Auburn is on the brink of elimination after losing 2-1 to Arizona. Several missed opportunities for the Tigers. They’ll have to play Harvard or Colorado State around 10:30 p.m. tonight to stay alive. • That’ll help. Bree Fornis puts Auburn on the board with a homer. She has two big hits. She barely had more than two hits all of the SEC season. • Handley with a career game in many respects. But Auburn will still need at least two runs here in the 7th to keep this game going, to send her back out to the mound. • Tannon Snow with her third strikeout of the day. • Rivera ends Arizona’s fifth inning with a great running catch in the right field corner. • The Tigers have gone down quietly the last couple innings on offense. They’ll have two more at-bats, otherwise, AU will be staring at a really tough road to a Super Regional. • Handley played with fire too long. A two-run single gives Arizona a 2-0 lead with two outs. • Handley is having expected control issues, but she’s through three scoreless innings against a great offensive team. • Auburn turns a beautiful double play on a hard-hit ball to second base. • Auburn loaded the bases with one out for their two best hitters, but don’t score. 0-0 MID 3. • Auburn had the bases loaded and one out. But Tannon Snow struck out. Still Kendall Veach up with a chance. • Casey McCrackin with a second hit. Auburn has two runners on with one out here in the third inning. • Handley allowed runners to second and third with one out, but got Arizona’s eight and nine hitters out without allowing a run. 0-0 after two innings. • Bree Fornis, Auburn’s least effective hitter this season, hits a two-out double. • Lexie Handley works around a two-out walk. No score after one full inning. • Rivera then grounds into a double play. She was 4-for-4 last night. • Casey McCrackin opens things up for Auburn with an eight-pitch at-bat that results in a single. • Lexie Handley will see her first action of the regional as the starting pitcher. If Auburn is to win this regional, she’s going to have to be a big part of it.