Kyndall White grew up watching Alabama play far more often than she watched Auburn.

The Tigers’ senior from Pinson said that’s what happens when you come from a family of Crimson Tide fans.

“They’ve converted to Auburn softball,” White said. “But they’re still really big football fans. As long as they cheer for me when it comes to softball, that’s fine.”

Since White switched to the other side of the divide and suited up for the Tigers, she hasn’t had the experience of beating the team she grew up watching.

In fact, nobody on the Tigers’ roster knows what it’s like to beat Alabama. Auburn’s last win against the Tide came in 2006.

Alabama takes a 13-game winning streak against the Tigers into today’s doubleheader in Tuscaloosa, which starts at 3 p.m. and will be televised on CSS.

“This series means a lot,” White said. “It actually means a lot more than any other game, you can probably imagine.”

Especially with all the baggage that comes with it this year.

Alabama (24-1, 0-0 SEC), ranked No. 2 in the nation, is its usual dominating self, winning eight games by the mercy rule already this season.

No. 23 Auburn (22-2, 3-0 SEC) is off to its best start in program history, with its only losses coming against No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 18 Oklahoma State.

This is the only shot the Tigers will get at their rival this season, unless the two meet in the SEC Tournament or beyond.

“This rivalry’s a little more heated than even in the past,” Auburn coach Tina Deese said. “This is a great matchup because, record-wise, we’re going into it with a lot of confidence. The game is very meaningful for both teams, without a doubt.

“Maybe even more so this year.”

Deese definitely wants her players to be cognizant of the challenge that awaits them and the opportunity they have to steal a game – or two – from one of the top teams in the country.

But she also wants them to remember it’s just a doubleheader near the beginning of the conference season and not to get too worked up about it.

White said that’s been a problem for Auburn teams in the past.

“We’ve been really emotional with it,” White said. “We’re always the underdogs when we go in to play Alabama. So we kind of put all these emotions in it to the point where we lose ourselves. With this team, the emotion’s going to be there, but you’re going to see a lot more focus than you have in the past.”

Alabama can mash. Kayla Braud is hitting .539 on the year, Jackie Traina already has 11 home runs, and Whitney Larsen, who White played against in high school, enters SEC play with the third-most career home runs in Crimson Tide history.

The Tide also happen to have one of the nation’s best pitchers in Kelsi Dunne, who is 10-1 with a 0.42 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 67 1/3 innings this year.

“I know screwball and changeup,” said Morgan Estell, a freshman from Kimberly who leads the Tigers with a .400 batting average and 19 RBI. “Basically, I’ve just got to think about her like any other pitcher. Yeah, she is really, really good. But just go in there thinking it’s just another game, and not psyche myself out.”

Just another game against the Tigers’ biggest rival, while trying to break a five-year losing streak and keep the best start in the history of Auburn softball going.

“One of my biggest fears is just letting the girls put too much emphasis on the game,” Deese said. “We’ve got a lot of other opponents in this conference that are ranked. But it is the Alabama-Auburn rivalry.

“I just don’t want them to play tight. The only way to approach this game is to get out there and do what you’ve been doing. We’ve just got to go into it like it’s another highly ranked opponent.”

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