AUBURN, Ala. – In a marathon contest Monday night at Jane B. Moore Field, freshman Nelia Peralta belted a solo home run in the bottom of the 10th to walk off No. 19 Auburn softball's 4-3 victory over South Carolina.
After dropping an extra-inning heartbreaker to open the series, Auburn (26-2, 5-1 SEC) battled back to take the final two games over the Gamecocks (18-10, 2-4 SEC) to win its second straight conference series. It is the first time Auburn has opened league action with back-to-back conference series wins since 2019.
"How about this group of young kids?" Head coach Mickey Dean said. "It's so fun much to watch. It's like going to the beach every day. They didn't get down when we couldn't push runs across and that gave me all the confidence that I needed. They were going to keep playing and get the job done when they had to."
Peralta recorded three of Auburn's six hits and she went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double and two home runs. The freshman totaled two RBI in the contest. Sophomore Denver Bryant also turned in a multi-hit performance as she went 2-for-4 with the game-tying home run in the sixth. Ten of Auburn's 15 runs scored in the series were all plated off home runs.
The Tigers loaded the bases in the first and third innings, but only manufactured one run off a bases-loaded walk in the first. Auburn struggled at the plate with runners in scoring position, ending the game 0-for-10, but found a way with help of the long ball.
As a team, Auburn has slugged 45 home runs this season, which is the 10th most in a single season in program history. It is the most home runs by an Auburn team since the 2019 squad slugged 66.
Sophomore Maddie Penta delivered the complete performance in the circle. In her 10 innings of work, Penta allowed just three runs, all coming in the fourth inning. The right-hander buckled down and tossed six shutout innings to close the game. Penta fanned eight and improved to 16-1 on the season.
Making a little history on the base paths, sophomore Makayla Packer stole a pair of bases to bring her total to 32 career bases. Packer is now tied for ninth in Auburn career history for stolen baseman with Lauren Guzman.
UP NEXT
Auburn hits the road for the first time in SEC play this weekend as the Tigers trek to Kentucky to face the No. 8 Wildcats. The series opens on Friday at 5 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+