AUBURN, Ala. – Facing its third consecutive top-10 opponent in Southeastern Conference action, No. 17 Auburn softball (29-6, 7-5 SEC) treks to No. 10 Arkansas (25-7, 6-3 SEC) for a three-game series at Bogle Park.
"Arkansas can really swing the ball," said head coach Mickey Dean. "The key this weekend is for our pitchers to work ahead in counts early. Our focus this week was to take of ourselves and had extra rest with Wednesday's cancellation so we could prepare physically and mentally for a tough environment in Fayetteville."
The series begins on Friday at 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+. The middle game of the series will be featured on the SEC Network. Tiffany Greene and Kayla Braud will have the call at 1 p.m. CT. Sunday's series finale is also set for 1 p.m. CT and will be available on the SEC Network+.
JJ Jackson will have the radio call for all three games of the series on the Auburn Sports Network.
LEADING OFF
- Facing its third consecutive top-10 opponent in Southeastern Conference play, Auburn is looking for its first series win at Arkansas since 2016. A series win would be Auburn's first over a rank SEC opponent since 2019.
- Already surpassing its 2021 win total of 27, Auburn is one victory away from its 30th win of the 2022 season. Auburn's last 30-win season came in 2019.
- Allowing just 55 earned runs in over 237 career innings pitched, Shelby Lowe ranks 14th among all active and qualifying NCAA Division I pitcher with a 1.62 career ERA.
- Earning her 18th victory of the season, Maddie Penta leads the SEC and ranks third in the country for victories. She currently has the 12th most wins by an Auburn pitcher in a single season.
- Nelia Peralta is just one home run shy of joining teammate Bri Ellis in double figures. Auburn has never had two freshmen with double-digit home runs in the same season. Before 2022, Kasey Cooper was the lone Tiger to ever record double-digit homers in a freshman season.
- Standing at 32-for-35 in career stolen base attempts, sophomore Makayla Packer enters the weekend tied for ninth in 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 six 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 the only SEC pitching staff to combine for over 300 strikeouts this season as it leads the league with 304. Auburn is also the only program with two pitchers with over 100 strikeouts to their credit. Maddie Penta is second in the SEC with 163 while Shelby Lowe is fifth with 106.
- At the plate, Auburn has slugged 58 home runs through its first 35 games this season. The 58 homers stand as the seventh most recorded in a single season at Auburn.
- Auburn ranks third in the SEC with a .592 team slugging percentage. The Tigers rank third in the league in doubles and second in both triples and home runs.
- Twenty-eight of Auburn's 58 total home runs in 2022 have been slugged by the Tiger freshmen class. Three Auburn freshman have hit at least six home runs this season.
ON DECK
Auburn hits the road on Wednesday for a midweek test at Mercer. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.