By Collin Mickle

Published: May 8, 2008

A year ago, the Auburn softball team spent the second week of May wondering what went wrong.

A year later, the Tigers are making up for lost time.

Last season, the top eight teams in the Southeastern Conference gathered at Auburn’s home field to compete for an SEC championship. Auburn’s players, meanwhile, had the uncomfortable role of absentee hostesses: The SEC Tournament, held that year at Jane B. Moore Field, proceeded without AU.

“We had been there the last several years (before 2007), and missing it the year we hosted was very painful,” head coach Tina Deese said.

This year, the Tigers are in the thick of things in Baton Rouge, La., site of this season’s SEC tourney.

And Deese says the memories of last season helped her team get there.

“That was a motivational tool for us this year,” Deese said. “We have a strong class of juniors and seniors that have been to the conference tournament. They were able to tell the younger players what it was like and how important it is to get there.”

Auburn (37-19, 13-14 SEC) finished sixth in the regular-season standings. The Tigers face third-seeded LSU (41-15, 17-11), the host team, at 7:30 p.m. today.

The winner of today’s Auburn-LSU game plays the winner of today’s matchup between second-seeded Alabama and No. 7 seed Mississippi State at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“We’re the lucky ones who get to play LSU at night in their stadium,” Deese said. “We know that’ll be tough; they’re a tough team. … We have to play with heart and confidence and go in there ready to play.”

A win or two in the SEC Tournament could improve Auburn’s positioning in the NCAA Tournament. The 64-team NCAA field will be announced Sunday, and while Auburn’s status is far from guaranteed, Deese believes her team will be selected.

“I feel like we’re in decent shape,” Deese said of qualifying for the NCAA field. “We’ll see what the selection committee does, but I think we’ve proven ourselves against Top 25 teams and we’ve proven ourselves against the SEC.

“We’ve done all we can do and we’re hoping they look favorably upon us. “

For now, the Tigers will focus on what they can control, starting at 7:30 p.m. today.

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