Auburn softball and No. 4 Tennessee were tied in a 2-2 game heading into the seventh inning, but the Lady Vols knocked a walk-off home run Thursday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium to take game one of the series 4-2.
In a pitcher's duel tied 0-0 entering the top of the sixth inning, two singles for Auburn's Rose Roach and Abbey Smith finally got the Tigers going and then a two RBI single by AnnaLea Adams brought both of them home to go up 2-0.
Tennessee would then go on to score two in the bottom of the sixth on two solo home runs and hold Auburn scoreless in the seventh to bring it tied 2-2 entering the bottom of the seventh. Tennessee's Taylor Pannell would then hit a walk off two-run home run to win it for the Lady Vols.
“There were big pitching performances from both sides,” said co-head Chris Malveaux. “Everyone was working ahead in the count. I am proud of our pitchers for throwing well. Malayna (Tamborra) had a great start. It’s just tough luck. That’s just the game sometimes. I was happy with the way we didn’t back down at the plate. We stayed in attack mode, and it was a hard-fought game. It’s going to set up for a good series the rest of the weekend.”
Auburn pitched extremely well, headlined by Malayna Thomas who went two scoreless innings to start the game. SJ Geurin also provided some solid innings in relief going 3.2 innings giving up two earned runs.
Abbey Smith led the way with two hits on the day, but the Tigers offense could never really get things going at the plate against Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens who pitched a complete game only giving up four hits. Pickens is second in the SEC in ERA at a whopping 0.99 and is first in innings pitched.
The Tigers look to bounce back from the loss and try to even up the series on Friday, April 18. First pitch on the SEC Network+ is set for 5 p.m. CST.
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Jack is a sophomore majoring in sports production. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
