No. 17 Auburn softball (20-2, 0-1 SEC) started a rally in the seventh inning to put the tying run in scoring position, but No. 21 Mississippi State (20-3, 1-0 SEC) held on to secure the win in game one of the series 5-4 Saturday night at Nusz Park.
Auburn fought from behind to take a 3-1 lead in the third, but errors overwhelmed the Tigers, allowing State to score three unearned runs in the fifth. Freshman AnnaLea Adams stepped up in the seventh with a double to right field, scoring Nelia Peralta to cut the Bulldog lead to one, but Auburn was unable to drive in the tying run before the final out by State.
“We did some good things tonight,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “The problem was there were moments where we kept bailing out, and it cost us the game. We gave them a couple runs that they shouldn’t have had. We had the tying run on board in the seventh, but we had way too many at bats where we weren’t staying aggressive.’”
Abbey Smith led the Tigers at the plate going 2-for-2 on the night. Peralta got on base in all four at-bats with a single and three walks. Anna Wohlers went 1-for-4 with a two-run double in the third to drive in two runs. Adams finished off the night 1-for-4 with a double to RBI.
Haley Rainey earned the start for the Tigers. In her two innings of work, she had two earned runs off three hits and a walk, along with two strikeouts in her first SEC appearance. SJ Geurin pitched four innings of relief, with all three runs she allowed being unearned. She scattered seven hits and one walk. Geurin was charged with her first loss of the season and fell to 13-1 in the circle.
Mississippi State struck first using the help of a pair of doubles in the bottom of the second inning. It was Jessie Blaine’s double off the left field wall that drove in the first run for the Bulldogs.
Smith broke up a six-strikeout streak with an infield single to lead off the top of the third for the Tigers. Her hit sparked some much-needed life into the Auburn offense. The Bulldogs cleared the lead runner on a fielder’s choice, but Peralta blooped a single to left field to put two on base for Wohlers.
Wohlers cleared the bases with a double to center to give Auburn a 2-1 lead. KK McCrary followed with a double to put two in scoring position. A Bulldog error at shortstop brought in the third and final run of the frame.
The Bulldogs led off the home half of the third with a single through the right side defense. The Tigers decided to make a pitching change, bringing in Geurin to toss. She forced a ground ball back to the mound, fielding her position for the out, but a single to right center brought in the run to cut the Tiger lead to 3-2.
Auburn was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth to keep it a one-run game, but the Tiger defense didn’t have the same luck in the fifth. After a leadoff double from State, Auburn put away the next two batters it faced but a fielding error on what would have ended the inning allowed the tying run to score.
With the inning extended, the Bulldogs drove a single and took advantage of a second Tiger error to score two more unearned runs and build a 5-3 lead.
Peralta led off the seventh with her third walk of the game to bring the tying run to the plate. After back-to-back strikeouts, Adams delivered her double to right field to cut it to a one-run game. However, the Tigers couldn’t complete the rally, ending the game 4-5.
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Samantha is a freshman majoring in public relations. She started with The Plainsman in the spring of 2025.
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