No. 20 Auburn softball hosts No. 5 Texas A&M in SEC home opener

No. 20 Auburn softball (20-5, 0-3 SEC) returns to the friendly confines of Jane B. Moore Field to host No. 5 Texas A&M (21-4, 1-2 SEC) in the Tigers’ Southeastern Conference home opening series.

No. 20 Auburn softball hosts No. 5 Texas A&M in SEC home openerNo. 20 Auburn softball hosts No. 5 Texas A&M in SEC home opener

AUBURN, Ala. – No. 20 Auburn softball (20-5, 0-3 SEC) returns to the friendly confines of Jane B. Moore Field to host No. 5 Texas A&M (21-4, 1-2 SEC) in the Tigers’ Southeastern Conference home opening series.

“It’s important that we’re back home this weekend,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “Being able to play in front of our crowd is going to make a difference. We’ve got to understand what we are fighting for and get out in front of our friends, our family, our home crowd and get after it.” 

The series begins Friday at 5 p.m. CT with Local Heroes Night. Fans will receive a free military-themed Auburn tumbler while supplies last. Friday’s contest is available on the SEC Network+ with the Auburn Sports Network providing the call.

It’s St. Patrick’s Day at Jane B. Moore Field on Saturday. Fans are encouraged to wear green while free green Auburn bucket hats are available while supplies last. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. Mark Neely and Madison Shipman will have the call.

With Saturday's weather forecast, fans are encouraged to check AuburnTigers.com and social media for potential schedule changes.

Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+. Graham Doty and Auburn softball alumna Amy Reif will be in the booth.

All three games of the series are also available on WEGL 91.1 FM and the Auburn Sports Network. Brit Bowen will have coverage all weekend long and will be joined by Micah Farmer (Friday), Caleb Robertson (Saturday) and Riley Kelton (Sunday). 

Auburn holds the slight advantage in the all-time series with the Aggies with a 16-12 mark with the Tigers winning six of the last 10 meetings. That record improves to 10-2 in games contested at Jane B. Moore Field. Auburn has swept Texas A&M in its last two trips to the Plains in 2022 and 2019.

The Tigers are looking to stop a four-game losing skid after Georgia Tech walked off a 2-1 win Wednesday night in Atlanta. Texas A&M enters the series after hosting No. 3 Florida at David Diamond last weekend. The Gators took the final two games to clinch the series.

On a hot streak over the last 10 games with four extra-base hits and seven RBI to her credit, Mya Perez leads the Aggie offense. She is either tied or in the outright team lead in batting average (.435), home runs (6), RBI (33) and slugging percentage (.806). 

The Aggie pitching staff has four arms credited with four or more wins this season. Emiley Kennedy leads the group with six. She and Sydney Lessentine (4-0) are tied for the team lead with 44 strikeouts each. Sidne Peters (5-0) holds a team best 1.59 earned run average, allowing just six earned runs this season. 

SJ Geurin enters the weekend tied with Oregon’s Lyndsey Grein and Coastal Carolina’s Nicolette Picone for the national lead in wins. The trio both have 13 to their credit. Geurin also ranks tied for third nationally with four saves. The lefty has been involved in 17 of Auburn’s 20 victories by either recording the win or the save. She ranks ninth in the SEC with a 1.38 earned run average. 

Finding consistency in the month of March, Nelia Peralta enters the weekend on an eight-game hit streak. Since the turn of the calendar, she is batting .409 at the plate and is tied with Icess Tresvik for the team lead in hits with 26. Peralta also leads the team with 26 runs scored and is third in RBI with 18. 

Abbey Smith enters the weekend with a team leading .403 batting average and has recorded a hit in 19 of Auburn’s 25 contests. In SEC play, Smith holds a .571 average. 

Anna Wohlers and Tresvik have combined for almost half of Auburn’s 32 home runs this season. The duo is tied for 20th in the SEC with six home runs each. Auburn has already matched just over 71 percent of its 2024 home run total of 45.