MOBILE, Ala. – With the game scoreless through seven innings behind dominant pitching performances on both sides, Auburn softball used a Nelia Peralta home run in the eighth to secure a 1-0 win over South Alabama Wednesday night at Jaguar Field.
“South Alabama is a tough team,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “We knew coming into it that it was going to be one of those games. Their pitcher (Olivia Cato) threw well. She mixed it around very well. Any time we had chances to score, we miss hit the ball and couldn’t barrel it up. They did a great job of keeping us off balance. It was a game that pitching and defense won for us. We needed that. Great performances from Haley (Rainey) and SJ (Geurin). They were landing their stuff and working ahead.”
Haley Rainey and SJ Geurin combined for Auburn’s first one-hitter since Maddie Penta and Annabella Widra one-hit Chattanooga on May 18, 2024, at the 2024 Tallahassee Regional. Rainey tossed five no-hit frames in her start and relied on her defense to get outs. She issued three walks in the outing.
Auburn led off the first three innings of the game with a walk but were unable to come up with any runs. South Alabama’s Olivia Cato found her groove and retired the Tigers in order in both the fourth and fifth innings.
The Tigers strung together a pair of one-out singles from Peralta and AnnaLea Adams in the sixth but were unable to come through with the go-ahead hit. The Tigers also had a pair of base runners in the top of the seventh, but Auburn’s two-out rally fell short. Cato held Auburn to just five hits through seven innings.
Rainey did her job by retiring seven straight Jaguars to keep South Alabama off the board. The Jaguars broke the streak with a leadoff walk in the fifth inning. South Alabama moved the runner to third with a sacrifice bunt and fly out, but Rainey forced the third out to keep the game scoreless.
Geurin took the no-hit bid into the seventh inning, but the Jaguars were able to break it up with a one-out single through the left side. The lefty forced back-to-back outs to send the game to extras.
Peralta came up big on the second pitch of the eighth inning as she slugged a solo home run to lead off the frame to give Auburn a 1-0 lead. It was the ninth blast of her senior season.
The one run was enough as Geurin retired the final three Jaguars she faced in order. She closed the game with four strikeouts and earned the win in relief to improve to 18-9.
Peralta closed the game 2-for-4 with the lone Auburn RBI. Adams also turned in a multi-hit game with a 2-for-3 effort.
UP NEXT
Auburn concludes Southeastern Conference play this weekend as the Tigers host No. 13 South Carolina for Alumni Weekend on the Plains. Friday’s series opener is set for 5 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+.