Bryan County alum Tiffany Howard was named “Hardest Worker” at Auburn University’s softball banquet Sunday night. She proved it Saturday in the SEC championship game when, after 676 career at-bats, she hit her first career home run.
“I wasn’t really swinging for the fences,” Howard told AuburnTigers.com. “The slap swing wasn’t working.”
Her two-run dinger helped No. 8 Auburn beat No. 13 LSU 7-1. The Tigers also beat No. 1 Florida and No. 4 Alabama in the SEC tournament. Howard was 5-for-11 over the three games and was named to the all-tournament team. She leads the SEC in hits (83) and at-bats (204), is second in total plate appearances (226) and third in runs scored (62).
The Tigers, 49-9, enter the NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed and will host regional play against Jacksonville State at 7 p.m. Friday. The game will be televised on ESPN3.