The No. 14-seeded Auburn Tigers scored six unanswered runs to survive the opening day of the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament on Tuesday afternoon in Lexington, Ky. — and they did it in dramatic fashion.
Auburn took down No. 11-seeded Missouri 6-2 to advance to the second round, avenging a two-run deficit late in the contest and claiming the program’s first SEC Tournament win since 2023.
“As a coach, it was refreshing to see the team free up and figure it out,” Auburn co-head coach Chris Malveaux said. “You could feel it as the game was going on. They went for it, had some success, started feeling it and carrying themselves differently. We had to find a way to win one game and get the monkey off our back.”
With the win, the Tigers stand at 26-27 overall, meaning they need to win two more games in the Bluegrass State to become eligible for an NCAA Tournament bid. Teams are required to finish at least .500 to be considered for an at-large spot, so Auburn must advance to the semifinals to have a chance at a regional berth.
After Missouri swept Auburn at Jane B. Moore Field in late March, the black-and-gold Tigers picked up right where they left off, posting two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Ella Harrison got the start in the circle for Auburn, walking the first two batters before timely hits by Abby Carr and Sidney Forrester gave Missouri an early 2-0 lead.
Those were the last runs that Missouri plated for the rest of the game, as Harrison pitched 4.0 innings and allowed two runs on four hits with five strikeouts. Freshman Charley Butler entered in relief in the bottom of the fifth, where she held Missouri to just one hit in three scoreless innings en route to her first career win.
Auburn left fielder Kylie Shaw led off the game with a triple, but the Tigers’ bats went cold until the sixth, recording just one hit over the next five frames. However, Auburn ultimately kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive by recording six runs in the final two innings.
Alyssa Hastings tripled to left field to start the sixth-inning rally, and a throwing error by Missouri catcher Stefania Abruscato on a failed pickoff attempt allowed Hastings to score Auburn’s first run.
Ma’Nia Womack and Destiny Rodriguez walked and singled, respectively, to put two runners on base, before a wild pitch allowed Womack to score from third to even it at 2-2.
Freshman Haven Roebuck followed the Missouri miscue with a two-run homer over the left field wall to propel Auburn to a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. The go-ahead home run marked Roebuck’s eighth of the season and her first since March 13.
But the Tigers didn’t settle for a two-run lead, as Kyla Stroud pinch-hit for Daigle Wilson to begin the seventh and blasted a solo home run to center to extend Auburn’s lead to 5-2. A few free passes later, Womack singled to center field with runners on first and second to drive in Shaw to give Auburn a four-run advantage.
Butler finished strong for Auburn in the bottom of the seventh, retiring the final Missouri batters to secure one of the Tigers’ most important wins of the season.
Auburn is set to face No. 6-seeded Texas A&M on Wednesday at 10 p.m. CDT in another must-win matchup for the Tigers with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
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Gunner is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in the fall 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @norene_gunner10
