AUBURN - First pitch for the 2012 Auburn softball season is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at Jane B. Moore Field as Auburn takes on Alabama State in the first game of the Tiger Invitational tournament.
Auburn hosts Appalachian State, Bowling Green, Indiana‐Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) and Wright State in the four‐day tournament. All Auburn home games can be heard locally on WEGL 91.1 FM and online, along with live stats and webcasts, at www.auburntigers.com.
“We are excited and looking forward to getting the season started,” Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. “We have been hard at work in practice the last few weeks and I think we are all ready to get into uniform, get dirty and play ball.”
Auburn is 4‐0 all‐time against Alabama State with the last meeting coming in the 2011 season opener at the All‐Alabama Tournament in Birmingham. The Tigers beat the Hornets 12‐1 in that game.
The Tigers are 1‐0 against Bowling Green and Wright State. Auburn’s only meeting against Bowling Green was in 2008 in a 3‐1 victory. The Tigers defeated Wright State 8‐0 in 2003. Auburn will meet Appalachian State and IPFW for the first time.
“This will be a good opening‐weekend test for our team,” Deese said. “The teams we have coming in are all very solid and well coached.”
Auburn’s 2012 schedule features 11 teams ranked in preseason top 25 polls. The Tigers play five non‐conference teams ranked in either the NFCA or ESPN preseason poll and six teams from the Southeastern Conference.
Following Thursday’s opener, the Tigers will play twice Friday and once Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, Auburn plays Wright State at 12:30 p.m. and Bowling Green at 3 p.m. On Saturday, the Tigers play IPFW at 12:30 p.m. and on Sunday the Tigers close out the tournament with 2 p.m. game against Appalachian State.