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Better days for Auburn softball as Myers' Midas touch continues By Bill Plummer Another softball season has been completed. Was it the best season of your career? Or was it one that you would rather forget? Depending on your answer, another season awaits you, especially if you're an underclassmen. If next season is your senior year you would certainly want to make it the best year of your college career. Even if it's not your senior year, you would certainly want to have the best year possible depending on your year in school. If it was your freshman season, it probably was a year of getting to know what it takes to play at the Division One level and what a change it was from high school or travel ball softball. There was an adjustment period and how well you handled that will play a role in the years ahead in your college career. Hopefully you made the adjustment to Division One softball without any problems and are looking forward to your remaining years of college softball. Those can be fulfilling years and hopefully you and your team will reach the goals that have been established. It could be to win a conference title, qualify for the NCAA Tournament and maybe a berth in the Women's College World Series. Each year more than 290 schools play Division One softball but only eight earn a berth in the Oklahoma City, the site of the College World Series. Before getting to OKC, teams must advance through Regionals and Super Regionals to become one of the Elite Eight in Oklahoma City. Some schools try for years and unfortunately don't ever win a berth in OKC. Some eventually earn a berth after a number of years or after a coaching change. Eight teams again competed in OKC this year and one team made its WCWS debut. It was the Auburn Tigers. Auburn has had a Division One program since 1997, but never had made it to the College World Series until this year. Clint Myers, former ASU coach, was hired two years ago to coach the program and eventually get the Tigers to Oklahoma City. Some figured it would take anywhere from three to five years to turn the program around. Myers and with help from his sons, Casey and Corey, turned the Auburn program around in two years. Surprising to some but not to those people who know Myers and have followed his Midas touch of accomplishments through baseball and softball. In 19 years, Myers led Central Arizona baseball and softball to seven NJCAA national titles, six in softball and one in baseball. He had a record of 481-43 in softball for a winning percentage of .918 and a record of 406-192 in baseball for a winning percentage of .679. He became coach of Arizona State in 2006 and yes turned that program into a national contender, winning two NCAA College World Series in seven trips to Oklahoma City out of eight years. Myers was named Auburn head coach in June of 2013 and the Tigers compiled a record of 42-19-1 his first year. The second year was expected to be better, but few could imagine that a new head coach could turn a program around in less than three to five years and make it to the College World Series. Unless of course any one but Myers who long ago proved his coaching mettle and has turned program upon program around. In Oklahoma City, Auburn battled tooth and nail and had a never give up attitude with enthusiasm and zeal and finished fourth in the 34th annual College World Series in the Tigers' debut in the spectacular event. Auburn was the surprise of the event, and had two players, freshman catcher Carlee Wallace and senior outfielder Branndi Melero, named to the All-Tournament team. The All-Tournament team was dominated by national champ Florida and runner-up Michigan but these two players clearly made an impact on the media to warrant a spot on the team. Wallace had six hits in Auburn's four games including three for extra bases and batted .462 while Melero capped her senior year with a .400 batting average including six hits and six RBIs. She had Auburn's first hit and first homer in the World Series and finished the year with a school record 208 career RBI, the tenth SEC player to have 200 or more RBIs. Wallace originally was going to ASU because Myers was the head coach, but she changed schools when Myers accepted the Auburn head job. Myers was certainly glad she followed him to Auburn and better years are ahead for not only Wallace but for the rest of the Auburn program. Auburn played 26 innings over three games in two days beating UCLA in extra innings before losing to eventual champ Florida 3-2 in nine innings. The UCLA game was a classic and went 10 innings. Auburn finished 56-11 in its first appearance in the WCWS and the most wins in school history. Wallace enjoyed the extra inning games. "Yesterday, I probably had the most fun I've ever had on this team, I think I speak for all of us when I say we had a blast. That's what you live for, those long-inning games,"said Wallace who returns for her sophomore year in the fall. Auburn gave Florida all it wanted and more, getting 11 hits to five for the Gators but stranded 14 runners and were unable to get the key hit when it was needed. Auburn had opportunity but just couldn't get the key hit when it needed it the most. Auburn will have fall practice as many Division One schools will do and apparently the success of the 2015 team has the fans at Auburn fired up for the 2016 season as a school record 500 season tickets were sold days after the team returned from OKC. The surge in ticket sales, along with multiple sellouts and over-capacity crowds in postseason has the Auburn AD Jay Jacobs considering expansion of the 1,500-seat Jane B. Moore Field. It hasn't been determined if Auburn will add club-level seats, but plans are underway for expansion and Jacobs compared the plans to those already being made for a potential renovation at Jordan-Hare Stadium "We'll do the same thing for softball if we thought our clientele would be into purchasing those," he said. "Right now, we just need seats." Auburn needs more seats. It added 350 temporary seats for the Alabama series and had crowds of 1,700 or more in its final four home games. Capital projects in the future include $15 million for a potential softball facility with $5 million funded through bonds. Jacobs explained expansion at Jane B. Moore Field could be difficult because of the lack of space beyond the outfield walls. Auburn could potentially explore options elsewhere on or off campus for a new stadium, but nothing is formal at this point. "Let's not box ourselves in on one particular thing," Jacobs said. "We began to look at our overall strategic plan, our overall plan for softball, you want to have the architect draw it so you have the chance to add suites." Better seasons are ahead for the Auburn Tigers who certainly have become a contender in the talent-laden SEC thanks to Myers' Midas Touch.