Auburn softball hosts No. 13 South Carolina in SEC finale

In its final Southeastern Conference series of the season, Auburn softball (28-20, 4-17 SEC) welcomes No. 13 South Carolina (35-11, 10-8 SEC) to Jane B. Moore Field for a three-game series.

Auburn softball hosts No. 13 South Carolina in SEC finaleAuburn softball hosts No. 13 South Carolina in SEC finale
Addi Ray/Auburn Tigers
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Auburn vs. South Carolina

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AUBURN, Ala. – In its final Southeastern Conference series of the season, Auburn softball (28-20, 4-17 SEC) welcomes No. 13 South Carolina (35-11, 10-8 SEC) to Jane B. Moore Field for a three-game series. 

“South Carolina is led by their pitching staff,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “They have three or four pitchers that they can use with (Sam) Gress leading the way. When they have a lead, they’ll bring her in. She’s good at closing games out and is a big-time competitor. They have a few hitters in their lineup that can hurt you. We have to keep them at bay and be smart if they are up with runners on base. We’ve got to take care of our business. Our last home series, we never backed down. We got to continue that mindset.” 

The series begins Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Saturday’s contest is set for 2 p.m. CT. Sunday’s series finale is slated for 1 p.m. CT. It’s Alumni Weekend on the Plains as former student-athletes have been invited back to Jane B. Moore Field. The Tigers will honor alums on Saturday in a pre-game ceremony. 

As part of the ceremony, Auburn will honor the 2015 team for its 10-year anniversary of winning the program’s first SEC Tournament title and advancing to the program’s first Women’s College World Series. Fans will receive free 2015 WCWS hats while supplies last on Saturday.

All three games are available on the SEC Network+. JJ Jackson will have play-by-play duties and will be joined over the weekend by a pair of Auburn softball alums in Amy Reif (Friday) and Kim Owens (Saturday-Sunday). 

Brit Bowen will have radio coverage on WEGL 91.1 FM and the Auburn Sports Network over the weekend. He’ll be joined in the booth by Gherig Gesch (Friday), Rett Krome (Saturday) and Caleb Robertson (Sunday). 

Auburn leads the all-time series with a 40-33 mark, which features as 20-14 Auburn advantage in games played at Jane B. Moore Field. The series has been close as of late as the last 10 meetings have been split evenly with five wins apiece. Auburn has recorded back-to-back series wins. South Carolina has not claimed a series win over Auburn since 2019. 

South Carolina enters the weekend tied for sixth in the SEC standings with Arkansas. The Gamecocks have SEC series wins over Kentucky, Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia this season. The four SEC series wins are the most for South Carolina since 2018. South Carolina marks the seventh ranked opponents Auburn will face in conference play this season. 

Quincee Lilio leads South Carolina with a .400 average at the plate behind 56 hits. She leads the team with 18 multi-hit games this season. Arianna Rodi is the big bat in the lineup with a .755 slugging clip. She’s knocked 13 home runs with 42 RBI to her credit to go along with a .351 average. 

Consistent in the circle across the board, South Carolina holds a 2.77 earned run average as a team. Jori Heard leads the team with 14 wins and 88 strikeouts. She holds a 2.61 ERA this season. Sam Gress has added 10 wins and leads the SEC with five saves. She has struck out 76 and holds a 2.53 ERA.

Auburn is looking to continue momentum after taking down South Alabama on the road in a 1-0 effort Wednesday night. Haley Rainey and SJ Geurin combined for the one-hit effort in the circle while Nelia Peralta’s solo home run in the eighth sealed the deal. With the win, the Tigers have guaranteed a .500 record or better for the 17th consecutive season. 

AnnaLea Adams continues to impress over her freshman campaign. She connected for her ninth home run of the season during the Georgia series and is now tied with Jessie Blaine (2022) for the fourth most home runs ever hit by a Tiger freshman. She also enters the weekend on a seven-game hit streak and holds the second highest batting average (.413) and third highest slugging percentage (.725) recorded by an Auburn freshman. 

Despite not playing in nine of Auburn’s 48 games, the freshman still ranks in the top five on the team in hits (45), RBI (32), doubles (7), home runs (9) and total bases (79).

Auburn has surpassed its 2024 team home run total (45) and its 2024 team runs scored total (213) and did so in just 42 games. Auburn’s 56 home runs this season are currently the eighth most hit in a single season and the most slugged by the Tigers since 2023 (64). Auburn has scored 10 or more runs eight times this season after doing so only twice in 2024. Auburn is 8-0 when scoring 10 or more runs and 17-1 this season when scoring at least six runs. 

Icess Tresvik leads the Tiger sluggers with 10 home runs. It marks the first time since her 2021 freshman season at North Carolina A&T that Tresvik has hit double-digit home runs in a season. She ranks 24th in the league in total home runs while her 16 stolen bases are good for ninth.

SJ Geurin is second in the SEC and 16th nationally with 18 wins in the circle. Geurin has been directly involved in 22 of Auburn’s 28 victories by either recording the win or the save. She leads Auburn with a 3.03 ERA and 82 strikeouts.

Auburn boasts the fifth toughest schedule in the country as its opponents hold a .661 winning percentage entering the weekend. The Tigers are also one of 18 teams nationally to have 12 or more wins over teams currently ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA RPI.