No. 19 Auburn is set to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks starting Saturday, March 19, for its second SEC series of the season.
If the Tigers can pull off a series win against the Gamecocks, it will be the first since 2016, the year that Auburn made its Women’s College World Series run to the final. Also, with a win on Saturday, the Tigers will be off to their best start in program history with a potential record of 25-1.
The last time Auburn faced South Carolina was in the 2021 SEC Tournament, where the Gamecocks eliminated the Tigers.
In Auburn’s SEC season opening series last weekend, the Tigers scored 17 total runs to A&M’s 12. Sophomore Maddie Penta earned two of the wins and sophomore Shelby Lowe picked up the other. Auburn is the only SEC pitching staff to combine for over 200 strikeouts, leading the league with 246. Maddie Penta leads the league in that category, totalling 130 strikeouts.
The first win for the Tigers came in an eight-inning thriller that ended with a Denver Bryant walk-off home run. Auburn outlasted A&M with a final score of 5-4. Auburn then took games two and three with scores of 4-3 and 8-5, respectively.
South Carolina also started SEC play last weekend. However, the Gamecocks dropped their first series 1-2 to the Georgia Bulldogs. They lost the first two games with scores of 7-8 and 4-13, but managed to pull off the win in game three with a score of 7-3 to prevent a sweep at home.
Here are some key players to look for going into the weekend:
Players to Watch
Auburn
Underclassmen
The underclassmen have been essential to Auburn’s success so far this season. Freshman Jessie Blaine went 4-for-7 in the series against Texas A&M, totaling three singles and a home run. Another freshman, Bri Ellis, is leading the Tigers in home runs so far this season with seven.
Denver Bryant (2B)
The sophomore had the walk-off homerun in the first game after an injury-riddled freshman season last year. She is third on the team in batting average (.386) and second in slugging percentage (.737). Bryant has also started all 25 games for the Tigers.
Packer (CF)
The leadoff hitter has the highest on-base percentage (.519) and the second-highest batting average (.406) for the Tigers. Alongside her batting stats, Packer is also a threat on the basepaths, stealing 13 bases successfully so far this season. Although she is the leadoff hitter, Packer is second on the team in homeruns with five.
Pitching staff
The pitching for the Tigers has been dominant since their only loss against UCLA in the beginning of the season. The SEC’s winningest pitcher in Maddie Penta and preseason All-SEC pick Shelby Lowe will be hard to figure out, and if one of them struggles, the other is right there to relieve them.
South Carolina
Riley Blampied (infield)
Blampied had a good series against Georgia. She went 4-10 with three singles and a home run. She also holds the highest batting average for South Carolina (.408).
Katie Prebble (outfield)
Fifth-year senior is one of the Gamecocks’ biggest threats at the plate. Prebble went 3-for-10 with two home runs and a single against the Bulldogs. She accounts for the highest slugging percentage for the Gamecocks (.747) and is currently in a tie for the second-most home runs in the SEC with 10.
Maddie Gallagher (infield)
Gallagher is also looking to take a good weekend of hitting to the Plains. She went 4-8 against Georgia, collecting a single along with a double and a triple.
Bailey Betenbaugh (pitcher)
The junior was the only South Carolina pitcher to earn a win against the Bulldogs. She has the second-highest team ERA (1.62) and has limited opponents to a batting average of .168 when she is in the circle.
Keys to victory
Overall, Auburn is going to have to continue its hot hitting and find ways to put runs on the board. The Tigers left 16 runners on base against A&M, so they need to figure out ways to piece together timely hits to score those runs.
South Carolina is also struggling to push runners across the plate, leaving 20 stranded in the series against Georgia. Again, the key to victory will be to string together hits and score runs instead of leaving runners on base. The Gamecocks will also be looking to improve pitching performances in the upcoming series.
The Gamecocks have played one more game than the Tigers this week, as Auburn had their midweek contest with Kennesaw State postponed due to inclement weather.
On the other hand, South Carolina beat the College of Charleston 10-3 on Thursday.
If depth comes into play late in the three-game series, Auburn might be the more rested group.
The first game between the Tigers and the Gamecocks will begin at 1 p.m. CST on Saturday, March 19, at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Alabama. The game will be broadcasted on SEC Network-plus.
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Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @emilycporch
