After a promising start to the weekend, Auburn ended the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic with four straight losses.
Sunday afternoon proved to be a case of inconsistent bats paired with elite pitching. Nelia Peralta hit a solo shot in the first inning to give Auburn the lead. However, the Sooners were able to battle back and put the Tigers away comfortably, 7-1.
"We weren't able to make adjustments at the plate," said head coach Mickey Dean. "That kept us from staying in the game longer. Plate adjustments on top of our defense is going to be areas of focus as we head into next week."
Auburn held on to its lead until the third inning as Oklahoma took a 2-1 advantage off a two-run home run from Jayda Coleman. From then on out, it was all Oklahoma. Oklahoma outscored Auburn, 21-1 on the weekend over two games.
Even when facing Maddie Penta, who had a dominant start to the season, Oklahoma got multiple runs off her. She was given the loss and is now 11-4 on the season and has picked up her fourth-consecutive loss.
Besides the solo home run by Peralta, the Tigers only recorded one more hit for the entirety of the game. Auburn has now lost its last four matchups against the Sooners. Auburn's last win against Oklahoma was in 2017.
Auburn knocked down Weber State in a pitching duel matched with cold temperatures to start the weekend. However, Northwestern knocked off Auburn in two games, and Oklahoma smashed the Tigers in the other two.
The weekend series capped of another disappointing result. Over the last two weekends, Auburn is 2-6 in it's last eight contest after starting the season of 20-3. Auburn is now 22-9 and reeling at a bad time.
After starting the SEC season last weekend against Georgia, Auburn now turns its head toward a full SEC slate. With some non-conference games sprinkled into the middle of the week, most of Auburn's remaining matchups will be against the SEC. The schedule will not get any easier from this point onward. However, the Tigers are unlikely to face a team with as much talent and veteran leadership as Oklahoma.
Auburn will host the Missouri Tigers in its second conference series this season at Jane B. Moore Field. Auburn and Missouri open the three-game series on Saturday at 6 p.m. CST. The contest is available on SEC Network+.
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TP is a senior from Montgomery, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @tp_hammock
