Auburn softball (9-2) is back in action this weekend, as the Tigers face their toughest test of the season thus far.
Co-head coaches Chris and Kate Malveaux’s squad is gearing up for six games out west at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., which will feature six games in four days. Auburn is making its third overall appearance at the annual tournament, previously competing in 2018 and 2020. The Tigers boast a 4-6 overall record at the event.
“This is one of the two big tournaments of the preseason,” Kate Malveaux said. “There are a couple reasons why we decided to play in this tournament. It’s for the level of competition. We had a good showing at the NFCA Leadoff Classic and a great weekend at home. We’re firing on more cylinders, so now let’s go test the team again.
The action-packed weekend kicks off on Thursday with back-to-back matchups with No. 14 Oregon (5-4) and No. 9 UCLA (7-3), both of which made the 2025 Women’s College World Series a season ago, starting at 12 p.m. CST. The Tigers are currently 3-0 against Big Ten foes this season, having previously defeated Michigan State, Penn State, and Illinois. However, these two contests will present much tougher opponents than Auburn has faced from the conference thus far this year.
“We’re going to play two World Series teams back-to-back and get a feel for what postseason might be like,” Kate Malveaux said. “You don’t want to get into conference play or the postseason without having that experience. We also get to reach a different base of people that you’re not normally exposed to and get to spread your footprint to different areas of the country.”
Friday features a late-night battle with the BYU Cougars (1-8), with Auburn’s only game of the day set for 10 p.m. CST. BYU competed at the same tournament as the Tigers last weekend – the NFCA Leadoff Classic – but only emerged from the Sunshine State with a win over Notre Dame, which Auburn also defeated.
The Tigers will play two games on Saturday against No. 21 Washington (7-3) and Cal State Fullerton (4-6), starting at 2 p.m. CST, before rounding out the weekend against the California Golden Bears (4-6) on Sunday at 11 a.m. CST.
Auburn is coming off a scorching hot start to the 2026 campaign, as the Tigers hold just two losses in 11 games, including a top-10 victory over No. 9 Clemson a few weeks ago. The Tigers fell at North Florida in the season opener on Feb. 5, but they have certainly bounced back since.
The only other loss came to Pittsburgh in a nine-inning thriller, but Auburn has since won six straight. A vast majority of those wins came last weekend in the War Eagle Classic at Jane B. Moore Field, with the Tigers recording five consecutive run-rule victories for the first time since 2017. Auburn dominated offensively, outscoring opponents 57 to 12 and totaling 28 extra-base hits over the four-day Opening Weekend tournament.
A paid subscription on FloSoftball is required for viewing this weekend’s slate at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, but fans can listen locally to the radio broadcast on WEGL 91.1 FM or on the Auburn Tigers website.
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Gunner is a freshman majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
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