AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn softball (15-10-1, 2-8 SEC) had traffic on the base paths throughout the night, but No. 4 Tennessee (26-4, 7-0 SEC) held on for a 5-1 victory to open the series Friday night at Jane B. Moore Field.
"Execution is what the game comes down to," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We have the effort. I thought Maddie (Penta) really gave us a chance. Her defense was on par. We had runners on, but we didn't get the hits. It wasn't a lack of effort. It was a 2-1 ball game there for a long time. I think if we could have pushed across another run or two with the bases loaded, it would have gotten interesting. We will take it pitch by pitch and be back here tomorrow."
Auburn tallied four hits with KK McCrary's triple in the fifth being the Tigers' lone extra-base hit of the game.
Tennessee took a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a Sophia Nugent home run. Auburn loaded the bases in the third inning and drove in one run off a Nelia Peralta hit by pitch to cut it to a one-run game. The Lady Volunteers homered twice in the sixth inning and added an insurance run in the seventh to build their 5-1 lead.
Auburn had base runners in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but couldn't come up with the big hit.
Maddie Penta suffered the loss to fall to 8-6 on the season. She struck out five in her start.
The Tigers will celebrate senior Makayla Packer on Saturday in a special pregame ceremony. First pitch on the SEC Network+ is set for 4 p.m. CT.