Corey Myers talks with Kaylee Carlson, left, and Makayla Martin in Oklahoma City last season.

AUBURN, Ala. – The numbers are staggering.

Through 22 games, Auburn’s softball pitchers have an ERA of 0.66, the best in Division I. They have pitched 10 shutouts. In four games against nationally ranked teams, they have allowed five total runs. They have allowed more than two runs just once, that in a 4-3 victory over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in eight innings.

Junior Kaylee Carlson and sophomore Makayla Martin, both California natives, have carried most of the load. They’ll probably carry it all when the No. 2 Tigers open SEC play with a three-game series against No. 12 LSU, starting Friday at Jane B. Moore Field.

Kaylee Carlson is 11-0 with an 0.50 ERA.

Carlson is 11-0 with an 0.50 ERA. Martin is 9-2 with an 0.65 ERA. In spot duty, senior Jenna Abbott has not given up a run in four innings. Freshman Ashlee Swindle has a 1.54 ERA in eight appearances.

It all starts with Corey Myers, the associate head coach and pitching coach. His way is not the usual way. He cares little for strikeouts. Give him a groundball any day.

“You only have so many pitches in your arm per season, and strikeouts cause high pitch counts,” Myers said. “You look at what the girl from Washington did against us. She threw 163 pitches in the second game of the season. I’m more on the baseball side. You’re never going to see one of our pitchers throw 163 pitches in the first two months of the season. I know they can handle it, but what does it do for me now compared to late May and June?”

Myers, a former minor league catcher, had not been a fulltime pitching coach before the Myers family business decided to relocate to Auburn. When Clint Myers agreed to become Auburn’s head coach, sons Corey and Casey came with him, along with long-time assistant Scott Woodard.

Corey Myers, the fourth player chosen in the 1999 major league draft, spent the 2013 season as director of player development for the Birmingham Thunderbolts 18 Gold softball team. From 2009-2012, he owned and operated the CM Baseball & Softball Academy in Chandler, Ariz. In 2007 and 2008 he was a volunteer coach on his father’s staff at Arizona State.

At Auburn, his pitchers have helped pave the way to two College World Series appearances, including last season’s runner-up finish, and two SEC Tournament championships.

“When we got our staff together, it was really clear I was going to be the one who took the pitchers,” Corey Myers said. “It wasn’t that I knew more than most about pitching. It was the way everything shook out. Casey was going to take the catchers and the hitters. Scott was going to help with the hitters and the outfielders, Coach (Clint Myers) was going to oversee everything and I was going to take the pitchers and the infielders.

“It just kind of happened that way. I think my brother and I look at pitching through the eyes of a catcher. One of my favorite pitching coaches in major league baseball was Dave Duncan, and he was a catcher. As a catcher, you have to know how to interact with all the pitchers.”

Last season Corey Myers had three seniors in Lexi Davis, Rachael Walters and Marcy Harper. Martin was a freshman. Carlson, who had transferred from North Carolina, was sophomore. This season, he has fewer options. But Carlson and Martin have been so dominant and so consistent that it hasn’t mattered.

Both, Myers says, have grown significantly from last season. And they were really good last season.

“Night and day,” Myers said. “They came back and got right back into their routine. They took ownership of the staff. They understood where they need to be. I am just blown away where we are. Last year we went into the World Series with like the 104th ERA in the country. What they’ve done with our offensive struggles is even more special to me.”

Myers makes no claim to being a technical expert. He welcomes his pitchers working with their coaches back home during the offseason. He coaches physical preparedness, improvement and the mental part of the game.

Auburn’s school of Kinesiology has been a major asset.

“They can tell the girls numbers,” Corey Myers said. “Athletes like numbers. When we go over to the lab and show you if your shoulder goes slower, your arm goes faster and the ball goes faster, there are numbers to do that.

“When Casey and I were playing for my dad, it was all about getting the most out of your bodies. That’s what they do. All our girls have sessions there where they are really learning how their body works.”

Martin says it is a formula that works well for them all.

“He connects with us at a different level,” Martin said. “He is more involved in our lives, obviously. He’s like a big brother. That makes it easier to pitch and easier to learn and just get better.”

Maykala Martin is 9-2 with an 0.65 ERA.

Clint Myers has marveled at what Auburn’s pitchers have done. He expected them to be improved, but he didn’t expect the dominance he has seen.

“I think it’s the mentality of what he teaches and how he teaches it,” Clint Myers said. “He doesn’t babysit. I think he’s done an excellent job of making sure they get the work done and get better. I think the idea of pitching to contact and minimizing pitches is different than almost anybody. We don’t go for the strikeout. We go for the out. He sets goals for the kids, and they have bought in.”

Carlson has added a riseball to her repertoire. Martin has added a changeup. Despite unusual offensive struggles at times in the first 22 games, both have throttled teams strong and weak. Auburn’s losses are 2-1 to No. 8 Washington in 10 innings and 1-0 to No. 13 James Madison.

“I wouldn’t say Greg Maddux was ever a guy that was going to throw it by people,” Corey Myers said. “He pitched to contact. He threw strikes. That’s kind of our philosophy.”

Auburn’s pitchers will face a major challenge in the weekend ahead. No. 12 LSU is loaded with returning players from last season’s WCWS team. Carlson is set to start Friday’s opener and Sunday’s finale. Martin is set for Saturday. Both could and probably will pitch in relief.

“The hard part for them now goes to pitch efficiency and seeing the same batters multiple days in a row,” Corey Myers said. “That’s kind of our next true test.”

Carlson says Auburn pitchers will be prepared to take that test.

“He has prepared us for any situation and given us the ability to trust in ourselves, to not worry and be confident,” Carlson said. “It’s easy to talk to him because we have such a good relationship. We’re going to be ready.”