The Auburn Tigers will make their way to Baton Rouge to take on the No. 6 LSU Tigers in a weekend series. Auburn has won four of its last five matchups and will aim to keep their momentum up heading into the weekend. The last time these two faced off the Tigers donning orange and blue won the series 2-1.
Auburn is fresh off a win against in-state opponent UAB. Maddie Penta and Shelby Lowe were dominant in the circle; their combined efforts helped the Tigers record their third no-hitter of the season. Maddie Penta earned the win, striking out five batters in four innings of play. Lowe closed out the game delivering two strikeouts to secure Auburn’s 9-0 win over the Blazers.
The Auburn offense had no issues getting on base and took advantage of having runners on base. Auburn jumped out to an early lead, scoring four runs in the first inning thanks to the efforts of Icess Tresvik and Mariah Penta, who brought in two runners a piece. This offensive effort did not waiver as Nelia Peralta and Ana Wohlers helped bring in three more runs to give the Tigers a commanding lead. Tresvik finished the day with a team-high three RBIs, followed by Peralta and Mariah Penta with two RBIs. On the season Peralta is up to 22 RBIs, placing her at second most on the team.
LSU has proven to be an offensive powerhouse this season. Throughout the season, the No. 6 team in the nation has had no issues getting into scoring position.The Tigers’ .422 on-base percentage ranks 11th in the nation. Early last month, LSU lost one of its offensive leaders, Danieca Coffey, to a season-ending knee injury. Coffey had a .404 batting average with a .500 on-base percentage for the season. In the wake of her injury, the Tigers have had to look elsewhere for offensive production. The team seems to have adjusted accordingly and features batters who can generate offense. Ciara Briggs was already one of the focal points for the offense and has taken on more of the load in the absence of Coffey. On the year, Briggs has 49 hits on the season, ranking third in the SEC, on a .383 batting average, which ranks 10th in the conference. This season, the Bayou Bengals have a .324 batting average and rank second in the conference in hits and triple plays.
In its most recent matchup, LSU took on Southeastern Louisiana University and fell behind early in the matchup after conceding consecutive home runs in consecutive innings, leading to a 4-0 Southeastern Louisiana lead.
LSU managed to claw back into the game beginning with a home run from infielder Taylor Pleasants to bring the Tigers within 2 runs of the lead. Karli Petty helped tie things up with an RBI in the fifth and seventh innings. Extra time was needed to decide this matchup, and in the bottom of the eighth inning Petty hit a walk-off home run to give the Tigers a 7-5 victory.
The Battle of the Tigers weekend series will feature a unique matchup. How Maddie Penta, the conference leader in strikeouts fares against an LSU squad that has only been struck out a conference-low 99 times will be something to keep an eye out for.
Auburn and No.6 LSU will begin their first game of the series on Friday, April 12 at 6 p.m. CST. The following game on April 13 will start at 6 p.m. CST. The series will conclude on April 14 at 1 p.m. CST. All games will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
