BY NOAH GRIFFITH FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN —
At 17-3-1, Auburn High softball is ranked No. 8 in the 7A state in this week’s poll by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, and the pitching duo of senior Allie Roberts and sophomore Abigail Helms is a big reason why.
“I call them 1-A and 1-B,” said head coach Matthew Hendricks. “Allie Roberts is the senior. She’s a little more experienced, so she gets the ‘A’ handle, and Abby [Helms] is a 10th-grader. She gets the ‘B,’ but they’re both comparable.”
For Auburn’s opponents, it’s a matter of picking their poison. Roberts boasts a 0.89 ERA with a 9-0 record plus a save, and Helms is right behind her with a 1.3 ERA and a 7-3 record. They have thrown 55 and 54 innings, respectively.
The duo has pounded the zone with great results. Hendricks said the team’s goal is for their pitchers to have a 2-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a target they have left in the dust.
They’ve combined for 127 strikeouts compared to just 23 walks, nearly a 6-1 ratio. That is a combination that’s led Auburn to six shutout victories, along with a 2-0 start to region play after taking a pair of contests with Smiths Station last week.
The dominance in the circle is nothing that caught Hendricks by surprise he said, but six of the Tigers’ first nine wins came via double-digit run explosions from the offense. In their first loss this season, however, the bats went cold.
“We’ve always pitched and played defense well, so that part I’m accustomed to, but we started off hot offensively, and then we went into a struggle where we were a little bit outside of the zone, making poor decisions,” Hendricks said. “It kind of caught up to us last week, and we ended up dropping a game to Enterprise.”
But the switch flipped back on, and the Tigers attribute that to playing team ball.
A big part of Auburn’s offensive success is ball placement and making strategic contact to advance runners, putting pressure on the defense — a strategy that the Tigers executed to perfection against Beulah last Thursday. After a pair of bunts extended the second inning, Robertson took advantage by launching a ball to the opposite field for a three-run bomb that led to a 7-1 win.
“When you get down back-to-back bunts and get runners on because of it, things just change. You become a lot harder to defend,” Hendricks said after the win over Beulah. “The biggest thing is, we’re willing to hit the ball the other way. We’ve hit 15 or 16 homers now, and only one of them has been to the pull side.”
Offensive versatility has also played in Auburn’s favor. Hendricks bragged on his two-hole hitter, senior Ashlyn Hartin, for her unpredictable approach.
“She’s dynamic because she may bunt one at-bat; she may slap the next. Then, she may hit a bomb the next time up,” Hendricks said with a chuckle. “That’s been really helpful.”
In addition to Hartin’s .379 on-base percentage, his two pitchers are heavy contributors on offense with a combined 29 RBIs, and he has the threat of senior Ivey Davis at his disposal.
Second on the team to only Katie Johnson (.533) with a .517 OBP and first in RBIs with 17, Hendricks moved Davis from her usual place at third in the order to the top of the lineup last week. Playing to a speedy bottom of the order, she now has the opportunity to clear the bases with her power, while also setting the table for Hartin and others behind her.
With dominant performances on both sides of the ball and a deep, talented lineup, Hendricks said he feels like the team will only improve as it dives further into region play with a pair of matchups versus Opelika next week.
“A lot of [our improvements] comes with confidence, too,” Hendricks said. “They’re starting to believe in what they’re capable of. The longer we keep it rolling, the better off we’ll be.”