Fresh from a three-game series in Oxford, Mississippi, Auburn Softball is gearing up to clash with the Alabama Crimson Tide for the Iron Bowl of softball in the final series before the SEC tournament.
The Tigers return from their series against the Rebels. After winning the first game stunningly in the eleventh inning, 2-1, they dropped the next two games to Ole Miss and look to get things back on track and break their losing streak.
No. 17 Alabama enters the contest after facing off No. 3 Tennessee in a series where it only managed to score a singular run but won the final game of the series 1-0.
Despite boasting two more wins than the Tigers in conference play, the Crimson Tide have not won a series in conference play since their three-game sweep of Ole Miss on April 7.
Auburn has historically struggled against Alabama in softball with a record of 24-52 all-time against the Tide, but won the most recent series in 2023 in Tuscaloosa — marking the first time since 2017.
Despite the series loss, the Tigers' right fielder Icess Tresvik had an impressive weekend against Ole Miss. In the three games, she had five hits, three runs, two RBIs and in the first game of the series she had two home runs.
After spending three seasons at Central Arkansas, Kayla Beaver transferred to Alabama as a graduate student and has continued to dominate the SEC, as she did in the ASUN conference.
The Crimson Tides' ace pitcher has flawlessly transitioned to the SEC and leads the team in ERA (1.64), wins (15) and strikeouts (144).
Against Tennessee, in 13 total innings of work, Beaver went 1-1 and had ten strikeouts, ten hits allowed and one earned run across both games and shut out the Lady Vols in her win.
The Crimson Tide will look to rely on their ace pitcher going into enemy territory if they want to end conference play on a high note.
The final series before the SEC tournament can drastically change the standings before it begins. Auburn is hosting the tournament and sits at 7-14 in conference play as the 12 seed in the SEC today.
The Iron Bowl of softball will kick off its three-game series on Thursday, May 2 with the first pitch at 7 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on ESPN2. Action on Friday, May 3 is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. CST with the series wrapping up on Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. CST. The final two games of the series will be broadcasted on the SEC Network.
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Craig Noyes is a junior from Kensington, Maryland, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2023.
Twitter: @craignoyes58
