AUBURN, Ala. – Kicking off back-to-back Southeastern Conference road series with a pivotal matchup with its in-state rival, No. 19 Auburn softball (33-13, 9-6 SEC) treks to Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2017 to face No. 14 Alabama (33-13, 9-6 SEC) for a three-game series at Rhoads Stadium.
"This is the first time any member of our roster has played a series at Alabama," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We did have an SEC Tournament game there in 2021, but we weren't playing Alabama. We didn't face them in that tournament. It's going to be a grind. We have to show up. We have to pay attention to us and get our energy from our teammates and our dugout."
All three games of the series will be nationally televised with Courtney Lyle and former Washington softball All-American and Olympian Daniele Lawrie on the call. The Tigers and Tide will play on the SEC Network on Friday and Saturday. Friday's opener is set for an 8 p.m. CT first pitch while Saturday's contest is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT. Sunday's finale is set for 11:30 a.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
Brit Bowen and Jacob Hillman will have the radio call for all three games on the Auburn Sports Network.
Auburn and Alabama enter the three-game series in a three-way tie with Arkansas for third place in the SEC standings. Alabama leads the all-time series 51-22 and has won the last four meetings, which includes a series sweep in 2021. The Tigers are looking for its first series win since 2018 and its first series win in Tuscaloosa since 2017. Auburn enters the weekend 6-1 against in-state opponents this season.
Alabama is returning to Rhoads Stadium after a five-game road swing, which featured a series sweep at Mississippi State before splitting a doubleheader with Liberty and Marshall on Tuesday. Liberty topped the tied 5-3. This weekend will feature a marquee battle in the circle between Montana Fouts and Maddie Penta, two of the top arms in the country. Fouts anchors Alabama pitching staff and holds a 1.50 earn run average and leads the NCAA with 244 strikeouts.
Penta and the Tiger staff earned its SEC-leading 19th shutout of the season Wednesday as Auburn blanked Jacksonville State 3-0. The win was Auburn's second consecutive shutout victory. The Tigers' 19 shutouts are tied for the fourth most recorded in a single season on the Plains.
Fresh off being named a finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Penta fanned three batters in her brief outing against the Gamecocks to record her 600th career strikeout. She's just the fourth pitcher in program history to hit the milestone.
Penta ranks second in the SEC behind only Fouts and third in the country with 227 total strikeouts. She leads the SEC in wins with 19 while also ranking second in the league with a 1.05 earns run average and third in shutouts with five. Three of her five shutouts this season have come in SEC play.
The Tiger staff also tops on the nation with 372 strikeouts and a 6.41 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 ninth in the SEC with 11 home runs. Ellis enters 10th in Auburn career history with 10 home runs. She is eight home runs shy of shattering the program's sophomore record held by Cooper. Ellis leads the squad with 36 RBI.
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. As a team, the Tigers rank second in the conference with 54 home runs, the seventh most recorded in a single season on the Plains.
Peralta has reached base safely in 43 of Auburn's 46 contests and ranks eighth in the SEC with a .497 on-base percentage. She enters the weekend series with the 10th highest on-base percentage recorded by a Tiger in a single season. Peralta leads the team with 35 walks, which is tied for the third most ever recorded by a Tiger sophomore. She averages 0.76 walks per game, ranking sixth in the SEC.
Auburn has turned the page defensively, committing just one error in its last 15 contests. Auburn has raised its fielding percentage to .977, the third highest mark in the conference and 16th highest in the nation. Auburn leads the SEC with a .986 fielding percentage in SEC contests.
The Tigers wrap up its regular-season road slate next week in Columbia, South Carolina against the Gamecocks. The series opens on Friday, April 28 at 5 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+.