Kaylee Carlson's 0-66 ERA is No. 3 nationally.

AUBURN, Ala. – How good are Auburn’s softball pitchers? This good:

-- Auburn’s team earned run average is 0.02, second nationally to Washington.

-- Senior Kaylee Carlson’s ERA is .0.66, third nationally

-- Junior Makayla Martin’s earned run average is 1.2, No. 23 nationally

-- Auburn’s strikeout to walk ratio is 4.36, No. 9 nationally.

-- Carlson is 17-2 Martin is 14-3. Behind them, freshman Chardonnay Harris is 3-2 with a 1.26 ERA. Sophomore Ashlee Swindle is 2-1 with a 1.33 ERA. Freshman Kara Bilodeau has no record but has given up no runs in seven innings pitched.

First-year Auburn pitching coach Mickey Dean says the numbers make it clear: Auburn’s pitchers have few equals in the college game.

“Look at the numbers,” Dean said. “I feel we have one of the best pitching staffs in the country. I know their work ethic and know what they have been able to do in games. When you look at the numbers, of course they are among the best in the country.”

Carlson, bidding for a second consecutive All-America season, can make a case for being more than one of the best. She can make a case for being the best. And she is at her best with runners on base.

“All you have to do is look at her face when somebody gets a hit,” Dean said. “Just look at her face. It’s about to go down.”

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With four straight series wins, the Tigers (36-8 overall and 9-6 in the SEC, go on the road to play last-place Missouri (22-21, 4-11) in a three-game series starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. Missouri’s record, Dean said, is deceiving. It includes wins over No. 20 Mississippi State, No. 13 LSU and No. 5 Georgia.

“They are good,” Dean said. “They hit the ball extremely well. Their first five hitters are legit, and we are playing at their place. This is not a walk up there, play the game and thank you. It’s going to be a challenge.

“It goes back to playing clean defense, pitchers getting ahead and being able to manufacture runs.”

Because of the strength of the SEC, Missouri still has goals. Every team in the league played in regionals last season, including last-place Georgia.

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Junior Auburn outfielder Morgan Podany is hitting just .222 this season. But when runners are on base, it’s a different story. She is hitting .333 (8-for-24) with 12 runs batted in.

"I think honestly, I just need to put myself in that pressure situation when there's nobody on," Podany said. "When you're in that position and there are people you need to score, you kind of hold yourself at a higher like, I have to get the job done. When nobody's on base and I'm the leadoff or there's one out and I'm up, it's kind of a different story. I'm trying to start the inning then. I'm not trying to score someone. In that respect, there's more pressure on me just to get the job done."

Dean says it’s not hard to see the difference.

“She hits earlier in the count,” Dean said. “When she leads off an inning or there is nobody on base, she is almost too patient. That’s what I see.”

Podany says batting in the No. 9 hole has helped her at the plate.

“I am seeing a lot more good pitches to hit in the 9 hole,” Podany said. “Pitchers either underestimate me or think they can get ahead of me early. If you look at last year, they are right. This year (is different). The best pitch to hit is usually the first or second strike you see. In the SEC, you aren’t going to get a lot of good pitches (to hit).”

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SEC standings can be confusing in basketball. Because there are only 13 teams, some teams have played 12 games and some, like Auburn, have played 15. Auburn, in sixth place, is even with first-place Florida (34-7.9-3) in the win column but three behind in the loss column.

If the Tigers close with a flourish at Missouri, against Arkansas at home and at Texas A&M, they have a long shot chance to win the championship. Most importantly, they can put themselves in position to host a regional and, potentially, a super regional.

But Dean says standings and the like aren’t on his mind.

“There are some games we won on walkoffs and some we lost we felt we should have won,” Dean said. “I know you get tired of hearing it, but for me it’s really about the next day and the next pitch. I really don’t think about that stuff a whole lot.

“I don’t like wasting time thinking about things I don’t have control over or my team doesn’t have control over. We have control over the next game, but there is nothing we can do of the ones already played.”