After a disappointing weekend at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic, the No. 21/25 Auburn Tigers (22-9, 1-2 SEC) look to get back on track against the Missouri Tigers (20-11, 1-5 SEC).
“Missouri is strong throughout their lineup,” said head coach Mickey Dean. “They are a scrappy a team. They have good kids in the circle. They have power and speed throughout their lineup. They do not beat themselves defensively. It is going to be two great teams competing, and we are going to have to be at our best.”
Auburn went 1-4 last weekend, only picking up a win over the Weber State Wildcats. The Tigers were outscored 31-11 over the five games.
Missouri dropped two out of three games against the No. 8/11 Florida Gators on the road in Gainesville, Florida, last weekend but picked up a 7-1 win over the Drake Bulldogs on Wednesday night.
Auburn is led on the mound by Maddie Penta, Annabelle Wildra and Shelby Lowe. Penta has a 1.05. ERA through 86.1 innings pitched and has struck out 133 batters while only walking nine. Wildra has a 2.16 ERA through 45.1 innings pitched and has 56 strikeouts to six walks. Lowe has a 2.44 ERA through 43 innings pitched and has struck out 55 batters while only walking five.
Laurin Krings, Cierra Harrison and Jordan Weber lead Missouri in pitching. Krings has a 2.58 ERA through 70.2 innings pitched and has 58 strikeouts to 15 walks. Harrison has a 2.65 ERA through 42.1 innings pitched and has 53 strikeouts to 12 walks. Weber has a 3.73 ERA through 50.2 innings pitched and has struck out 30 batters while walking 14.
Auburn has six hitters who currently have a batting average above .300. Makayla Packer leads the way for the Tigers at the plate, hitting .425 with a 1.015 OPS and a slugging percentage of .550. Carlee McCordichie is hitting .386 with an OPS of .917 and a slugging percentage of .506 and also has 21 RBIs. Nelia Peralta hits .372 with an OPS of 1.178 and a slugging percentage of .654. Bri Ellis is hitting .342 with an OPS of 1.178 and a slugging percentage of .722, also leading the team in home runs with eight.
Missouri is led at the plate by Alex Honnold and Jenna Laird. Honnold is batting .493 with a .918 slugging percentage and has 29 RBIs and seven home runs. Laird is batting .416 with a .495 slugging percentage and has 23 RBIs.
First pitch is at 2 p.m. CST on Saturday, 6 p.m. on Saturday for a doubleheader and 6 p.m. on Monday. Saturday's game will be televised on SEC Network+ while Sunday and Monday's games can be found on SEC Network.
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Daniel Locke, junior in journalism, is the community editor for The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @danieljlocke
