AUBURN, Ala. – Firing on all cylinders early in the season, No. 20 Auburn softball (10-1) puts in undefeated record at Jane B. Moore Field on the line as the Tiger host Brown, Merrimack and North Dakota State for the Plainsman Invite.
The three-day tournament begins on Friday as the Tigers face Merrimack (0-1) and Brown (0-0) in a doubleheader slate. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT. Auburn returns to the diamond Saturday at 3 p.m. CT for a twin billing against North Dakota State (4-6) and Merrimack. Sunday's finale against the Bison is set for 12 p.m. CT.
"North Dakota State is a really good program," said head coach Mickey Dean. "They have a really good senior pitcher in the circle, who has gotten off to a great start. They've always been a good hitting team. That will be a great test for us. Brown hasn't played yet this year, so we won't have anything to scout. Merrimack has only played once, so we're limited with what we've seen."
The Tigers are facing both Merrimack and Brown for the first time in program history. Auburn holds an 18-2 record against first-time opponents in the Mickey Dean era. The Bison opened the season at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, suffering losses to Southeastern Conference opponents Ole Miss and Tennessee.
Due to conflicts with other home events throughout the weekend, only Saturday's doubleheader slate will be available on the SEC Network+. Fans have the option to stream the radio broadcast for all five contests on the Auburn Sports Network.
Auburn enters the weekend with an undefeated record of 6-0 at Jane B. Moore Field and has won eight consecutive games to boast the third-best record in the SEC heading into the third weekend of the season.
Slugging three home runs in Wednesday's midweek victory over UAB, the Tigers lead the SEC with 17 total homers. Sophomore Icess Tresvik paces the Tigers and ranks fifth in the league with four home runs. The Tigers also boast the second highest team batting average (.378) and slugging percentage (.633) in the conference.
Sophomore Nelia Peralta paces the team at the top of the lineup, recording a hit in 10 of Auburn's 11 contests with a team-leading seven multi-hit performances. Peralta ranks third in the conference in total hits and fourth in batting average.
Junior Maddie Penta continues to anchor Auburn's dominating pitching staff that holds an SEC-best 1.18 team earned run average. Penta remains undefeated with a 7-0 mark in the circle to lead the league. The right-hander has yet to allow an earned run to score over 30.0 innings of work with help of 58 strikeouts, the second most by any pitcher in the country.
No. 20 Tigers put undefeated home record on the line at Plainsman Invite
