After seemingly finding their offensive groove in their previous series against No. 23 Ole Miss last weekend, the Tigers saw their bats struggle in Baton Rouge this weekend, ending their regular season unceremoniously with a three-game sweep by No. 19 LSU.
“For some reason, it has been tough for us to show up and play with an aggressive mindset lately,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “If you look at the last month, we’ve tried, but it’s on us as coaches. We’ve got some bits and pieces, but at this level it can’t be just bits and pieces. It has got to be totality across the board and throughout the game. We’ve got a young team that has a difficult time committing to that over and over, but we’ve got the conference tournament ahead of us.”
The series loss capped a rough conference slate for the Tigers. After beginning the season 21-7, Auburn lost all but one SEC series, finishing with a 4-20 conference record.
The Tigers are now the No. 14 seed in the SEC Tournament, set to take on No. 11 Missouri on Tuesday.
Despite a strong combined outing from pitchers Ella Harrison and Charley Butler, who allowed just three runs over six innings, the Tigers were unable to generate any run support in Game 1.
Auburn’s lineup could not solve LSU starter Paytn Monticelli, who threw seven innings, allowing just four hits while striking out nine batters. The loss marked the 12th conference game this season in which the Tigers scored one run or fewer.
The front half of Saturday’s doubleheader was even worse for the struggling Auburn squad, as the Tigers were not only shut out for the second game in a row but also allowed a season-high 25 runs in just five innings.
LSU plated seven or more runs in three different innings, forcing five different Auburn pitchers to take the mound. Auburn’s offense struggled even more, managing just three hits compared to LSU’s 24.
Auburn broke its scoring drought in Game 2 of the doubleheader on Saturday, scoring lone runs in the second and seventh innings, both on solo home runs from center fielder Ma’Nia Womack.
Auburn put Harrison back on the mound, hoping to build off an impressive Game 1 start earlier in the week. LSU remained unfazed offensively, however, putting up three multi-run innings to take the game 7-2 and complete a series sweep in the battle of the Tigers.
With its season coming to a rather unceremonious end, Auburn will look to put a rough conference schedule behind it as it turns its attention to the SEC Tournament. As the No. 14 seed, the Tigers will face No. 11 Missouri in a play-in matchup on Tuesday with a chance to advance and meet No. 6 Texas A&M in the first round.
In their most recent series against Missouri at home in late March, Auburn was swept, with each game decided by three runs or fewer. The Tigers will need a change in fortunes if they hope to secure their first SEC Tournament victory in just under three years.
The Tigers will head to Lexington, Kentucky, to take on Missouri in the play-in round of the SEC Tournament on Tuesday.
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Jonathan is a freshman majoring in industrial and systems engineering. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2025.
