AUBURN, Ala. – Returning to Jane B. Moore Field for the first time in over two weeks, No. 21 Auburn softball (22-9, 1-2 SEC) welcomes Missouri (20-11, 1-5 SEC) to the Plains for the first of four home Southeastern Conference series.
"Missouri is strong throughout their lineup," said head coach Mickey Dean. "They are a scrappy a team. They have good kids in the circle. They have power and speed throughout their lineup. They do not beat themselves defensively. It is going to be two great teams competing, and we are going to have to be at our best."
The series begins on Saturday. First pitch on the SEC Network+ is set for 6 p.m. CT. Brit Bowen and three-time Auburn softball All-American Kasey Cooper will have the call. Saturday the Tigers will sport yellow ribbons in honor of Michigan softball's Kaylee Rodriguez and her fight against bone cancer.
Game two of the series is set for Sunday at 5 p.m. CT. Sunday is designated as Auburn's yearly breast cancer awareness game. Monday's finale is set for 6 p.m. CT and will feature postgame fireworks. Sunday and Monday's contests will both air on the SEC Network with Mark Neely and two-time Olympic gold medalist Michele Smith on the call.
All three games of the series can also be heard on the airwaves on the Auburn Sports Network.
With rain forecasted throughout the weekend, fans are encouraged to check Auburn softball's official social media accounts for any adjustments or delays to this weekend's schedule.
Missouri is making its first trip to the Plains since the 2017 season, which also marks Auburn's last series win over Mizzou. The two squads last met at the 2022 SEC Tournament with Missouri scratching out a 1-0 win.
Already with two SEC series under its belt, Missouri was swept by then No. 16 Kentucky to open conference play. The Wildcats outscored Missouri 16-0 over the series. Last weekend, Missouri trek to No. 8 Florida. After taking the first game of the series, Missouri fell in back-to-back, one-run games to the Gators.
Missouri enters the weekend ranked second in the SEC and ninth nationally with a .979 fielding percentage and are dangerous on the base paths with 66 stolen bases this season.
Maddie Penta continued to etch her name into Auburn softball lore during her performance at the Omni Hall of Fame Classic last weekend. Behind a season high 12 strikeouts in her start against Northwestern, Penta became just the fourth Tiger in program history to surpass 500 career strikeouts.
The hard-throwing righty leads the SEC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (14.78) and fewest walks allowed per seven innings (0.73). She also ranks second in the league in victories (11), third in strikeouts (133) and fourth in earned run average (1.05). Penta enters the weekend ranked in the top 10 in over 15 Auburn career pitching categories.
Auburn continues to slug a big bat as the Tigers are ranked second in the conference with 37 home runs. Twelve different Tigers has knocked a home run this season with eight slugging at least two. Denver Bryant was the latest Tiger to join this multi-home run group as she knocked two last weekend in Oklahoma City.
Bri Ellis currently ranks eighth in the SEC with eight home runs. Tracking towards another program record, Ellis needs just 11 home runs throughout the remainder of the season to shatter the program's sophomore record held by Cooper. Just 31 games into her sophomore season, Ellis stands in a tie for 11th in school history for career home runs with 28. She needs just three to move into 10th outright.
Following this weekend homestand with Missouri, Auburn returns to midweek action as the Tigers trek to Birmingham on Wednesday to face Samford. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.