AUBURN, Ala. – Returning to Jane B. Moore Field for the final weekend of the regular season, No. 17 Auburn softball (37-15, 13-8 SEC) hosts Mississippi State (27-22, 6-14 SEC) on the Plains for the first time since 2017.
"Last weekend, Mississippi State was playing like their hair was on fire," said head coach Mickey Dean. "They were swinging it like crazy. They have proven this year and in the past that they can be a dangerous offensive team. We still have to play our game, study film and control what we can control. It's the last weekend. Everyone is going to be fired up. It's not going to be easy."
The series begins Friday with first pitch set at 5 p.m. CT. In the last "Friday Night Lights" giveaway of the season, fans will receive light-up sunglasses while supplies last. JJ Jackson and former Auburn softball student-athlete and assistant coach Amy Reif will have the call on the SEC Network+. The Tigers will honor its graduating student support staff of managers Hunter Segar and Abby Taylor and graduate assistants Sierra Easterwood and Olivia Lessmann in a pregame ceremony.
Saturday is '90s Day at Jane B. Moore Field. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. CT. Fans will receive a free Auburn softball '90s t-shirt while supplies last. Jackson returns to the booth for the SEC Network+ with three-time Auburn softball All-American Kasey Cooper. Auburn will honor medically retired student-athlete KK Dismukes in a special pregame ceremony.
Sunday's finale is set for 11 a.m. CT on the SEC Network. Mike Couzens and three-time Alabama softball All-American Kayla Braud will be on the call. Auburn will celebrate the careers of Maia Engelkes, Lindsey Garcia, Aspyn Godwin and Carlee McCondichie in a pregame ceremony.
All three games of the series can also be heard on the Auburn Sports Network.
With large crowds expected due to commencement ceremonies, fans are encourage to park in designated lots for softball. Click here to view the softball parking map.
Auburn leads the all-time series 36-33 with wins in eight of the last 10 meetings. The Tigers hold an 18-13 advantage in games played at Jane B. Moore Field. Auburn has won the last eight series versus the Bulldogs with the last series loss coming at Auburn in 2010.
After sweeping South Carolina to open SEC play, Mississippi State went winless in the league until last weekend. In their final home series, the Bulldogs swept No. 20 Kentucky. For her efforts in the series win, senior Paige Cook was tabbed SEC Player of the Week.
Auburn is coming off back-to-back SEC road series wins for the first time since 2019 as the Tigers used a pair of shutout victories from Maddie Penta to take the series at South Carolina. Auburn is tied for third in the SEC standings with Arkansas and needs two wins this weekend to secure a bye into the quarterfinals of the 2023 SEC Tournament.
Tossing the program's first no-hitter in SEC play since 2006, Maddie Penta enters the weekend as the reigning SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week. She is the first Tiger to be named SEC Pitcher of the Week three times in the same season since Anna Thompson in 2010. Penta leads the league with a 23-5 overall record while ranking second in the SEC in ERA (0.96), innings pitched (182.0) and strikeouts (261) and third in shutouts (7). Penta has tossed five shutouts in SEC play the third most ever recorded by a Tiger pitcher.
Auburn's pitching staff has totaled 21 shutouts this season, leading the SEC and ranking third nationally. Auburn's 21 shutouts are the third most recorded in a single season on the Plains. Auburn is the lone pitching staff in the country with over 400 strikeouts this season. The Tigers lead the nation with a 5.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio, issuing juts 71 walks compared to 415 strikeouts.
Thirteen different Tigers have knocked a home run this season with 10 slugging at least two. Bri Ellis currently ranks 10th in the SEC with 12 home runs. Ellis enters the weekend 10th in Auburn career history with 32 homers. She is seven shy of shattering the program's sophomore record held by Kasey Cooper. Auburn is currently 12-0 this season when Ellis slugs a home run.
As a team, the Tigers rank tied for second in the conference with 59 home runs, the seventh most recorded in a single season on the Plains.
Nelia Peralta has reached base safely in 48 of Auburn's 52 contests and ranks seventh in the SEC with a .506 on-base percentage, the 10th highest mark by a Tiger in a single season. Peralta leads the team with 39 walks, which is tied for the third most ever recorded by a Tiger sophomore. She averages 0.75 walks per game, which ranks fifth in the SEC.
Peralta also leads the team with 14 multi-hit contests. She has totaled 46 hits and tops the club with a .346 batting average. McCondichie enters the weekend on milestone watch as she is just two hits shy of recorded the 100th of her collegiate career.
Committing just one error last weekend in Columbia, Auburn enters the series with a .976 fielding percentage, the fourth highest mark in the league. Auburn has made just 11 errors in league action this season and tops the SEC with a .980 fielding percentage in conference games only.
The 2023 SEC Tournament, hosted by Arkansas, begins Tuesday, May 9. Every game of the SEC Tournament will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.
No. 17 Auburn softball hosts Mississippi State, honors seniors in regular-season finale
