Following a strong showing on the road against South Alabama, Auburn (20-10, 2-4) will now face Jacksonville State (20-8, 5-1) in its second midweek matchup in a row during its break from conference play.
“We were patient at the plate,” co-head coach Chris Malveaux said. “It was important to see SJ (Geurin) get back on the horse and do her thing. That was a big goal today: controlling the zone and letting the game come to us.”
Coach Malveaux was referring to starting pitcher SJ Geurin, who had an excellent performance. She allowed only two runs during her time on the mound, allowing none until the third inning when South Alabama's Kara Wine drove in a pair. Junior Malayna Tamborra and redshirt freshman Blayne Godfrey were excellent in relief as well, also allowing no runs.
Freshman Delaney Aumua was certainly the star of the show in the Tigers' most recent matchup, having directly contributed to six of the Tigers' 11 runs, largely stemming from the first grand slam of her career. Including Aumua's grand slam, the Tigers started incredibly hot, having scored six runs in the first inning alone.
“She’s another one who is not overswinging and letting the game come to her,” Malveaux said of Aumua. “South Alabama can be a tough place to play. It was important for us to score early and put multiple runs up. Kudos to her for stepping up.”
These comments about South Alabama's stadium toughness are certainly warranted, as South has a 13-6 home record this season, with this win for Auburn now being its first true win on the road of the season.
Auburn will now get the chance to play at home once again, where it has been incredibly consistent thus far this season. The Tigers are 11-3 at home this season, including a series win over the Kentucky Wildcats and their most impressive win of the season, 10-5 against the No. 10 Oregon Ducks. Two of these home losses came against the No. 11 Virginia Tech Hokies, 5-9 and 2-6, respectively.
On the other side of the matchup, the Jacksonville State Gamecocks have been impressive in their own right this season. Boasting a 5-1 conference record and sitting at 20-8 overall, the Gamecocks sit at No. 1 in Conference USA and are on a five-game winning streak. They also sit just above .500 on the road with a 5-4 record. The Gamecocks share a win with Auburn as well, having also defeated South Alabama on the road on Valentine's Day with a score of 8-4.
In their most recent series, the Gamecocks swept Western Kentucky, outscoring the Hilltoppers 16-3 across three games. Jacksonville State's Makenna Moore allowed only one run on five hits and two walks, recording seven strikeouts on the day as well.
Auburn will face off against Jacksonville State at 5 p.m. CST on March 18 at Jane B. Moore Field.
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Braden is a freshman majoring in Aviation Management. He started with the Plainsman in fall 2025.
