If one had ask many SEC softball fans on Monday who would be playing in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, chances are they would not have predicted this.
Auburn is not a huge surprise. However, many had their doubts as to if the Tigers would make it. This is due to LSU being on their side of the bracket, and Auburn had not won an SEC Tournament game since 2019.
However, Auburn proved many wrong by fighting back and defeating a hungry Ole Miss squad 8-7 on Thursday. Auburn clinched its spot, and sat back and watched the next game to see who its opponent would be.
The game was Georgia vs South Carolina, a two seed versus a 10 seed. Many had already locked in a softball clash of the Deep Souths Oldest Rivalry. South Carolina had other plans. The Gamecocks had played yesterday and defeated Texas A&M in extra innings. It was 1-0, but they did their job.
Their second contest was very similar, an extra-inning contest ending with a Gamecock victory. South Carolina won 2-1 and punched its tickets to an unlikely semifinal appearance.
Auburn and South Carolina are not strangers in the slightest. The two played over the last weekend of April when these squads faced off in Columbia. It was one of the rarer series one will ever see. That is because in the three-game series, two of them ended with a pitcher being rewarded a no-hitter.
Auburn won game one 1-0. South Carolina got its revenge and then some with an 8-0 no-hitter from its ace, Donnie Gobourne. Gobourne was a star in the victory over Georgia, shutting down the Bulldogs' offense in the late stages of the game. Auburn then came back with its own no-hitter by Maddie Penta and won 10-0 to wrap up the series.
Now these two squads face off again, this time with higher stakes involved. The original series in the regular season was for SEC seeding. This time it will be for NCAA Regional seeding. Auburn is looking to host an NCAA Regional while South Carolina is looking for a higher seed, as it could grab a two seed in the tournament.
South Carolina is 36-19 on the season and 9-17 in SEC competition. The Gamecocks are No. 35 in the RPI according to D1Softball.com. What makes their victory over Georgia shocking is they played in late April and Georgia handled them with ease, outscoring the Gamecocks 14-2 in the three-game series.
Auburn had its own battle Thursday against Ole Miss. Ole Miss got out to an early 6-2 lead, but Auburn rallied back and kept its hopes to bring home an SEC title alive. Penta started the game and had one of her worst performances of her career. However, she showed strong leadership when she was put back into the game to close it out.
Penta, with the bases loaded, got out of the jam and earned the save. With all of the emotions, Penta shut down the Rebels one last time. Auburn showed the heart of a champion and now gets to face the hungry Gamecocks.
South Carolina is led by its star pitcher Gobourne, who was drafted into the Women's Professional Fastpitch League. She was the first Gamecock to be drafted since 2013. The Gamecocks are led by the flaming bat of Brooke Blankenship. Blankenship is more of a contact hitter, batting .317 with 26 RBIs.
Auburn is 40-16 on the season, and it has had the delight of many bats getting hot at the right time. Two of these bats are from Denver Bryant and Carlee McCondichie. Bryant is batting .320 on the season with five home runs while McCondichie is batting .303 with 22 RBIs to her name.
The game plan for Auburn should be to work to its advantage. South Carolina has an extra game under its belt, and does not have the freshness that Auburn holds. Auburn will look for an early knockout and look for the Gamecocks to fatigue late.
South Carolina has Gobourne. She won them the game Thursday by shutting down Georgia. Auburn has had its dry spells this season, and Gobourne will look to continue the Gamecocks tournament strategy of having low-scoring, defensive games.
Auburn will play South Carolina Friday at 3 p.m. CST on the 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
