FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Capping off one of the greatest Auburn performances in a Southeastern Conference season with the league's highest honor for a pitcher, Auburn softball's Maddie Penta was honored as the SEC Pitcher of the Year, the league office announced Friday.
The first Auburn pitcher to ever be named SEC Pitcher of the Year, Penta was one of three Tigers to earn 2023 All-SEC selections as the junior right-hander picked up her second consecutive First Team All-SEC accolade to become the first Auburn Tiger to earn back-to-back first team honors since Kasey Cooper.
Penta made it a clean sweep of awards as she was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team. Penta is Auburn's first SEC All-Defensive Team selection since Casey McCrackin in 2019.
Denver Bryant and Nelia Peralta joined Penta on the All-SEC Team as the duo earned second team accolades, the firsts of the respective careers. Auburn's three All-SEC selections are the most for the Tigers since the 2017 season.
The first Tiger since Anna Thompson (2010, 2009) to turn in back-to-back seasons with 20 or more wins and 250 or more strikeouts, Penta carried the Tigers during SEC play and her efforts in the circle led Auburn to its highest finish in the league since 2017.
Penta sent Auburn's program record for the lowest earned run average recorded in an SEC season and led all pitchers with 65 innings or more pitched with a 1.02 mark. She closed league action with a 12-2 record with one save and tied for the conference lead in wins. She is just the fourth Auburn pitcher to record 12 or more wins in an SEC season.
The right-hander started 15 games in league action and went the distance in 13. She tossed six shutouts in league play, tying Kristen Keyes (2004) for the program's single season record. Her shutout efforts included two one-hit efforts and a no-hitter against South Carolina. It was Auburn's first no-hitter in SEC play in over 17 years.
In 110.1 innings pitched, the Chesapeake City, Maryland native scattered 54 hits and allowed just 16 earned runs. She held opponents to a .143 average at the plate, the second lowest mark in conference play. Penta finished second in the league with 138 strikeouts and tied the program's SEC single-game effort with a 17-strikeout performance versus Missouri. She finished behind only Keyes for most strikeouts in an SEC season by an Auburn pitcher.
Defensively, Penta posted a perfect fielding percentage in league contests with two putouts and 19 assists.
Playing on a different level in the last month of the season, Bryant put up video game numbers at the plate to raise her batting average to .322 in league play. She was the only starting Tiger to finish SEC play with a batting average above .300 versus conference opponents. Her batting average was the 14th highest in SEC play.
Of her 19 hits in league play, Bryant added to doubles and three home runs for a .508 slugging percentage. The Albany, Georgia, native scored seven runs and finished second on the team with 10 RBI in SEC play. Bryant added eight walks to record a .403 on-base percentage and was 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts.
Holding down the hot corner, Bryant made just three errors at third base in conference games and recorded 21 putouts and 19 assists.
Completely elevating her game, Peralta was Auburn's most consistent hitters throughout the SEC season. Holding a .299 average against league opponents from the leadoff spot, Peralta led the Tigers with 20 hits and 12 runs scored in SEC play. Peralta knocked a pair of doubles and finished tied for first with Lindsey Garica as the duo both slugged five home runs in SEC play to help Peralta turned in a team-high .552 slugging percentage.
The Wellington, Florida, native drew 15 walks and held a .435 on-base percentage. Peralta held the 12th highest on-base percentage by an SEC hitter in conference games and added the eighth most walks. In a complete turnaround defensively, Peralta committed just a pair of errors at shortstop during the SEC season to turn in a .971 fielding percentage with 35 putouts and 33 assists.
The Tiger trio return to the field Friday afternoon to compete in the SEC Softball Tournament Semifinals as No. 3 seed Auburn squares off against No. 10 seed South Carolina. First pitch on ESPN2 is set for 3 p.m. CT.
