AUBURN, Ala. – Renewing an in-state rivalry, No. 19 Auburn softball (25-9) returns to midweek action as the Tigers trek to Birmingham on Wednesday to face Samford (14-18) at Samford Softball Stadium.
First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. The midweek contest will be available on ESPN+. JJ Jackson will have radio coverage Wednesday on the Auburn Sports Network.
"Samford is a scrappy team," said head coach Mickey Dean. "It'll be a tough road environment for us, but it will also get the chance for us to mix in some fresh faces on the field and work on our offense game plan before we head back into conference play."
Once a regular opponent on the schedule, Auburn is facing Samford for the first time since 2016. The Tigers lead the all-time series 16-6 and hold a 6-3 record in games played in Birmingham.
Auburn's first wins in school history came against the Bulldogs as the Tigers swept a doubleheader in Birmingham on Feb. 18, 1997. Samford's current head coach Kimball Cassady (Pratt) is an Auburn softball alumna that played for the Tigers from 1998 to 2001.
Samford opened Southern Conference play last weekend by sweeping Mercer. The Reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week, McKenzie Newcomb leads the Bulldog pitching staff with a 1.57 earned run average and 107 strikeouts. Newcomb ranks eighth nationally with a 9.73 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The Tigers are riding a three-game win streak using a pair of walk-offs to sweep Missouri for the first time in school history. Maddie Penta added another impressive note to her ledger as she struck out 17 batters in game of the series to tie the program record for strikeouts in a SEC contest.
The reigning SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week, Penta leads the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.29) and victories (13), while ranking second in strikeouts (158) and third earned run average (0.98). Penta enters the midweek 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 39 home runs. Thirteen different Tigers has knocked a home run this season with eight slugging at least two. 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 34 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.
Nelia Peralta has reached base safely in 33 of Auburn's 34 contests and ranks sixth in the SEC with a .522 on-base percentage. Carlee McCondichie ranks 10th in the league with 35 hits and ranks second on the team with a .398 average
Auburn returns to conference play this weekend, hosting Ole Miss for a three-game series. The series opens on Friday with a first pitch set for 6 p.m. CT. All three games of the series will be available on the ESPN app.