In a game she started, Maddie Penta exited during a disastrous third inning. In the end, she earned the save and gave No. 3 seed Auburn its first SEC Tournament win since 2019, defeating No. 11 Ole Miss, 8-7.
Struggling uncharacteristically with command, Penta allowed five runs on seven hits, four walks and three hit batters after only walking 41 to 279 strikeouts all season, but she kept her composure and re-entered the game for the first time this season and pitched a scoreless final two innings to earn her third save of the season.
In a game where its ace didn't have her best stuff, Auburn gave up six runs in the third inning and held a four-run deficit to Ole Miss, but in her first SEC Tournament game, Icess Tresvick erased it. She blasted her ninth homer of the year, a two-run blast, to kick off a three-run fifth where the Tigers recaptured the lead.
After her homer, Auburn kept the rally going by loading the bases, and Rose Roach punched a ball through the right side for a go-ahead RBI single. Looking to add on, Auburn extended the miscues in the game, as Makayla Packer ran into a double play at third base to end the inning before Aspyn Godwin could give Auburn an insurance run.
With Penta's fourth HBP with the bases loaded in the seventh, it looked like base running errors such as Packer's, along with Nelia Peralta being gunned down at the plate in the first inning and Roach running into a fielder's choice at third on a ground ball to shortstop, would sink Auburn.
The game was momentarily knotted at eight and the Auburn players were left covering their eyes, but the third HBP review in the game had a different result: the Ole Miss batter was sent back to the plate after it was ruled that she moved into the pitch.
There were two outs, but the bases remained loaded. Penta advanced the count to 3-0, and a walk meant a re-tied game, but Penta then remembered who she was and threw three straight strikes to get her fourth K of the day and seal Auburn's 40th win of the season – tying last season's total.
"I just had to remember who I am. The person that came out here today is not who I am. Just remembering that I'm Maddie Penta. I'm sorry, but I am," Penta said in her post-game interview.
Despite giving up her season-high five runs for the third time this season and the first time since March to No. 1 Oklahoma, Penta finished strong and earned her third save of the season.
Auburn gave up 11 hits and walked four while only striking out six, but despite the Tigers committing two errors, Ole Miss committed three in a game with plenty of hard contact. This allowed Auburn to get back in the game after giving up six in the top of the third.
The Tigers benefitted from putting the ball in play, only striking out twice in the game.
Auburn loaded the bases with one out in the third and Ole Miss committed two consecutive throwing errors, allowing two to score on a sacrifice fly from Garcia and another on a grounder to second by Aspyn Godwin. That gave Auburn life, putting it back within one after giving up six in the previous frame.
Keeping Auburn in the game, Annabelle Widra shut down the Ole Miss offense after allowing a homer to cap off the damage in the third. She went 2.2 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits and two Ks to earn the win and improve to 9-5 on the season. In a game where Penta struggled with command, Widra entered and hammered the zone, walking none and inducing 12 flyouts.
While the pitching worked around a lot of additional runs, stranding 12 Ole Miss runners, Auburn notched its fourth conference game of the season where it scored more than six runs. The Tigers poured on eight runs on eight hits and five walks.
Individually, sophomores Tresvick and Roach shined and put together the tying and winning hits. Tresvick went 2-for-3 in her first game from the clean-up spot, scoring three runs and knocking in a pair of runs with a walk. Roach added on in her first postseason start, going 2-for-3 with a double and the game-winning RBI. Denver Bryant tallied Auburn's third multi-hit performance and third extra-base hit, going 2-for-4 with a double.
The offense was hot as it has been in a while, but the pitching struggled and endured a large workload. Penta there 105 pitches while Widra threw 60, leaving Shelby Lowe as the Tigers' only untaxed pitcher going into Friday's game.
With its first SEC Tournament win since 2019, Auburn (40-16) advanced to the tournament semifinals against the winner of No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 10 South Carolina in Fayetteville, Arkansas's Bogle Park. Auburn will have a turnaround of under 24 hours, as the first pitch of that game will come at 3 p.m. CST on ESPN2.
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