AUBURN, Ala. – Opening the final full month of the regular season with a top-25 showdown at Jane B. Moore Field, No. 17 Auburns softball (28-4, 6-3 SEC) welcomes No. 7 Florida (28-5, 5-4 SEC) for a three-game series.
"Florida has a great softball tradition," said head coach Mickey Dean. "They typically have very good pitching. They have a lot of speed on offense. The do not beat themselves on defense. They've been one of the top four teams in the country defensively the last 12 years. It's going to be a battle. It doesn't matter where it is played. It's going to be a battle, and we're going to be ready."
The three-game series begins on Friday at 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+. Brit Bowen and former Auburn softball All-American Kasey Cooper will have the call. Saturday will feature a nationally televised contest on the SEC Network with Eric Frede and Madison Shipman. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT. Sunday's finale returns to the SEC Network+ with Bowen and Cooper with a 1 p.m. CT start.
Fans can all hear all three games of the series in the Auburn Sports Network.
LEADING OFF
- In its second straight top-10 battle in Southeastern Conference play, Auburn is looking to snap a five-game losing skid to Florida. Auburn is searching for its first win in the series since 2005.
- Standing at 32-for-35 in career stolen base attempts, sophomore Makayla Packer enters the weekend series tied for ninth program history for career stolen bases.
- Turning in one of the best individual pitching performances in school history, Maddie Penta currently ranks in the top five in four Auburn single-season pitching records: strikeouts per seven innings, opponent batting average, earned run average and walks allowed per seven innings.
- Auburn is one of just six programs in the SEC to have a pitching staff combine for over 200 strikeouts this season. Auburn leads the SEC with 290 strikeouts as a staff. Auburn is the only program with two pitchers with over 100 strikeouts to their credit. Maddie Penta is second in the SEC with 152 while Shelby Lowe is fourth with 104.
- Bringing power to the plate, Auburn's freshman class has slugged 26 of Auburn's 54 home runs. Three Auburn freshmen has knocked multiple homers this season with Bri Ellis leading the charge with 12.
- The Tigers have been locked in at the plate with two outs on the scoreboard. Four of Auburn's starters have a batting average over .300 with two outs with both Aspyn Godwin and Nelia Peralta leading the way with a .350 mark. Denver Bryant (14) along with freshman Jessie Blaine (10) both have double-digit, two-out RBI totals while the team as whole has accounted for 63 two-out RBI.
- At the plate, Auburn has slugged 54 home runs through its first 32 games this season. The 50 homers stand as the sixth most recorded in a single season at Auburn.
- Picking up the program's 28th victory of the season with a midweek win over in-state for Alabama State, Auburn has surpassed its 2021 wins total of 27 in just 32 games.
- The SEC leader in victories, Maddie Penta ranks third nationally with 17 wins over her sophomore season. Penta just needs two more wins to crack into the top 10 for Auburn's single-season wins by a pitcher.
ON DECK
Auburn continues its homestand on Wednesday, April 8 with another midweek test against a regional opponent. First pitch on the SEC Network+ is set for 6 p.m. CT.