Auburn's batters hit rock bottom in loss to JMU

AUBURN | The Tigers made a name for themselves a few years back as a team that always was one out away from a momentum-shifting rally.

That reputation may be changing.

James Madison ace Megan Good was at her very best Sunday — cranking up her fastball to 73 mph and dazzling Auburn hitters by clipping edges of the strike zone for innings at a time. Good is one of the nation's most dominant pitchers to be sure, but Auburn coach Clint Myers nonetheless was surprised by his team's inability to score even a single run.

In fact, the Tigers finished with only one hit in a 1-0 loss Sunday.

"We were not Auburn offensively," Myers said. "We left the zone too many times. Only left the zone four times the first time through (the batting order). Once they scored, we tried a little bit harder instead of being a little bit smarter. It’s about staying focused and staying committed and the discipline to stay in the zone."

JMU (12-2) scored in the third inning on a single up the middle, which allowed a runner to score from third base. Conceding a single run typically doesn't faze Auburn. Still, even the smallest deficit seemed to become a problem considering Good's overpowering form in the circle.

Auburn mounted a rally of sorts in the final inning when Courtney Shea led off with a walk and pinch runner Bree Fornis advanced to second on a wild pitch. A sacrifice bunt seemed like the correct play for the next hitter, Kendall Veach, but Myers instead asked Veach to swing away.

She struck out.

Fornis advanced to third on a groundout from pinch hitter Madi Gipson, but Jenna Abbott struck out to end the modest uprising.

Auburn (14-2) resumes play Thursday night at home against Liberty University.

• Myers said he decided against having Veach bunt in the seventh inning because his top priority right now is developing hitters. "We're not playing for a national championship (today) and we’ve got to see what we can do in certain situations," Myers said. "Can we handle the pressure? If we connect with the ball with the people who went up there, we have a chance to win it with one swing. It’s about getting experience and having quality at-bats in crucial situations. Kendall’s going to be in the lineup, she’s got to learn to handle these kinds of things."

• Auburn starter Makayla Martin pitched well in her own right — allowing just one run and four hits in seven innings of work. She said matching up against a pitcher as excellent as Good didn't create additional pressure. "I wouldn’t say pressure. I’ve been put into big games like that where I know the score isn’t going to be rung up by us," Martin said. "I’m just trying to get my defense off the field as quickly as I can."

• What made Good so good Sunday from Martin's perspective? "She was just dominating in the circle," Martin said. "She was care-free, she was sticking to her game plan and she was attacking the zone."