AUBURN, Ala. – Winding down a four-game homestand at Jane B. Moore Field and kicking off four straight games against in-state opponents, No. 19 Auburn softball (32-13) welcomes Jacksonville State (26-13) to the Plains for a Wednesday midweek tilt.
"Jacksonville State swings the bat well," said head coach Mickey Dean. "They play fundamental defense. Their pitchers do a nice job of not putting themselves in trouble. They are going to work you in and out. It's a great midweek challenge. It may be a 'Bark in the Park' but it won't be a walk in the park."
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT. Brit Bowen and three-time Auburn All-American Kasey Cooper have the call on the SEC Network+. Fans can listen in to Wednesday's broadcast on the Auburn Sports Network.
Wednesday contest is sponsored by Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine and is the program's annual "Bark in the Park" contest as fans are encouraged to bring their pups to Jane B. Moore Field. Fans can also purchase a "Meal Deal" ticket to Wednesday game that includes a ticket and voucher for a hot dog and chips for the price of $10.
Auburn leads the all-time series 19-2 and holds an unblemished 12-0 record against Jax State in games played at Jane B. Moore Field. The Tigers won the last two meetings via the run rule, sweeping a home-and-home series by outscoring the Gamecocks 19-1. Auburn is 5-1 against in-state opponents this season.
Jacksonville State enters the midweek after taking a pair of wins over Queens to secure the ASUN series victory. Auburn is the second Southeastern Conference opponent JSU has faced this season. The Gamecocks competed in the Tennessee Classic in March, facing the Tennessee twice. The Lady Vols shut out JSU in both contests.
After picking up its first series win over LSU since 2017, Auburn enters the midweek winning four of its last five games with help of a pair of shutouts. Taking its third series win of the season, the Tigers are currently in a three-way tie with Arkansas and Alabama for third place in the SEC standings.
Shutting out LSU in 14.2 of the 15.2 innings she pitched, Maddie Penta improved to 19-5 on the season as she leads the conference in total wins. Penta also ranks second in the SEC in earned run average (1.05), innings pitched (153.0) and strikeouts (224). Three of her five shutouts this season have come against SEC opponents.
Penta is on milestone alert heading into the midweek tilt as she needs just two strikeouts to become just the fourth player in program history to record 600 career strikeouts.
Auburn's pitching staff has totaled 18 shutouts this season, the second most in the league and the fourth most in the country. The Tiger staff also tops on the nation with 366 strikeouts and a 6.42 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Penta, Shelby Lowe and Annabelle Widra all rank in the top seven in the SEC with their individual strikeout-to-walk ratios.
Thirteen different Tigers have knocked a home run this season with nine slugging at least two. Bri Ellis currently ranks seventh in the SEC with 10 home runs. Ellis enters the weekend tied for 10th in Auburn career history with 10 home runs. She is nine home runs shy of shattering the program's sophomore record held by Cooper.
Combining for three home runs during the LSU series, Lindsey Garcia (9) and Nelia Peralta (8) are on the verge of joining Ellis in double figures and would mark back-to-back seasons with three Tigers recording at least 10 home runs. Garcia also leads the squad with a career high 35 RBI. As a team, the Tigers rank second in the conference with 52 home runs, the seventh most recorded in a single season on the Plains.
Peralta has reached base safely in 42 of Auburn's 45 contests and ranks eighth in the SEC with a .494 on-base percentage. Peralta leads the team with 33 walks, which is tied for the fourth most ever recorded by a Tiger sophomore. She averages 0.73 walks per game, ranking sixth in the SEC.
Auburn has turned the page defensively, committing just one error in its last 14 contests. Auburn has raised its fielding percentage to .977, the fourth highest mark in the conference and 17th highest in the nation. Auburn leads the SEC with a .986 fielding percentage in SEC contests.
In another pivotal SEC series, Auburn treks to Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2017 to face No. 14 Alabama. The series begins Friday with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. CT. The game will air on the SEC Network.