During the middle of the season, it seemed that Auburn was at a crossroads. It could go one of two ways. The bats were getting ice cold and the pitching could only be so good for so long. It seemed that the breaking point occurred in Oklahoma City. Auburn had just been obliterated by Oklahoma, and went 1-4 in tournament play. Auburn had played one SEC series at this time and lost to Georgia, who many expected Auburn to defeat. Auburn had gone 2-7 in their last 9 games.
Since its 7-1 loss to Oklahoma, Auburn is 15-6 and is pushing to host a regional tournament in the NCAA Tournament. Thing's didn't just snap back to normal for Auburn. It took time and lots of patience. Since then, the Tigers have only lost one SEC series, and that was in Gainesville to the Florida Gators. Even in defeat, there was victory as Auburn secured its first win at Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium since 2017.
Things really began to click when Auburn hosted LSU. LSU historically had Auburn's number when playing, but not this time. Auburn got two out of the three games to secure a series victory. The wins didn't stop there as the Tigers traveled to Tuscaloosa and secured an SEC series victory over Alabama, one of the best programs in the nation, led by its ace pitcher Montana Fouts. Last weekend, Auburn traveled to South Carolina and clinched another SEC series victory over a surging Gamecock team.
Mississippi State also met with the Oklahoma Sooners, and met a similar fate: two games, two blowout losses. The Bulldogs from Starkville seemed to get their footing after sweeping South Carolina. After that, it became a disaster of epic proportions. They went on to go 2-14 in the next 16 contests. Their only victories came from Louisiana Monroe and Memphis. However, they stunned Kentucky in a sweep last weekend. They now turn their attention to Auburn looking to spoil any chance at hosting a regional tournament.
Mississippi State's best hitter is the duo of Aquana Brownlee and Paige Cook. Brownlee is batting a .319 batting average on the season while Cook bats a .317. Cook leads the Bulldogs in home runs with 11 on the year.
Auburn is led by one of the best pitchers in the country in Maddie Penta. Penta is truly one of the elite pitchers in the country. Her ERA is an incredible 0.96 and her opponents' BA against her is .146. The leader of the Tigers hitting is the one-two punch of Bri Ellis and Nelia Peralta. Peralta is batting a .338 this season, the most efficient bat in the lineup for Auburn. Ellis provides the power as she has 12 home runs to her name.
Auburn looks to get out to an early lead to let its elite pitching continue to do its work. During the 2-14 spell by the Bulldogs, they were shut out in six of those games. Auburn looks to continue to grab its SEC wins and continue to push for a home regional series at Jane B. Moore Field
Mississippi State put up runs in their series sweep against Kentucky with its lowest scoring output at six runs. It is hard to beat a team when its offense is clicking on all cylinders. Mississippi State looks to score a high number of runs and try to get the Auburn bats to return to their cold spell from March.
The first game is at 5 p.m. CST Friday night. Saturday's contest will be at 3 p.m. and Sunday's will be at 11 a.m. All games will be played at Jane B. Moore Field. Friday and Saturday's contest will be on SEC Network+ with Sunday's game being broadcasted 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
