Mickey Dean arrived in Auburn knowing he needed more pitching. Much more.

The Auburn head coach has spent his entire time as the Tigers' head coach, a span of four seasons now, angling for two of the top pitchers available in the Class of 2020. He inherited a few good arms from his predecessor, added a few high school pitchers and a couple transfers along the way. He kept it going. Auburn's pitching was good, but rarely anything better than that.

Dean knew he needed performers. He needed aces. He needed five-star signees.

So he started that pursuit when Maddie Penta and Shelby Lowe were high school freshmen.

"I did a lot of talking. One of my least favorite things to do is talk on the phone, but that’s what you have to do," Dean said. "The nice thing about these kids … they’re such good kids that you enjoy those conversations, you look forward to those conversations."

It's one thing to target highly coveted pitchers.

Lowe, a left-hander from Pickens Academy in Carrollton, Ala., always has flummoxed hitters with an array of bendy pitches that have one important thing in common: They miss bats. Penta, a right-hander from Maryland, is a second-generation ace — her mother pitched at University of Delaware — and overpowers batters with a fastball that hits 71 mph.

Both were ranked among the nation's top five prep pitchers as seniors.

And there was Dean all along, selling them on the concept of collaborating in college. Top pitchers often view themselves as franchise players upon whom an entire program's fortunes can ride. Like Oklahoma's Paige Parker. Like Alabama's Jackie Traina. Like Texas' Cat Osterman and Arizona's Jennie Finch several years ago.

Why would Penta and Lowe ever agree to share the limelight?

Because Dean convinced them it would work better this way.

"You really had to get them to visualize the future because that is tough. I’m not going to deny it," Dean said. "The game has changed a great deal. I you want to go and try to compete for championships today, you need multiple pitchers and you need pitchers who can play roles. The biggest part was really getting them to visualize and see that future. They were able to see it. I think it’s becoming clearer to them each week — that lefty-righty combination."

Opposing hitters haven't managed that challenge well at all.

In seven starts, Lowe is 6-0 with a 0.50 earned run average. She's struck out 67 batters and walked four. Penta also is 6-0, though her ERA is slightly higher (1.34) due to issuing 18 walks in her 41 1/3 innings of work. Opponents are hitting just .132 against her.

Even by SEC non-conference standards, those numbers are excellent.

And while Dean loves what the two freshmen have accomplished so far, he knows things are about to change. The Tigers open conference play at home Friday with a weekend series against No. 4 Alabama.

Dean believes his team is ready for what lies ahead. He certainly has enough pitching now.

"We can challenge just about anybody," he said.