AUBURN, Ala. – No. 25 Auburn softball (22-13, 0-11 SEC) was unable to get the offense going against No. 4 Florida (32-5, 5-3 SEC) as the Gators took game two 10-0 in six innings Saturday at Jane B. Moore Field to clinch the series.
“Things compound,” said co-head Kate Malveaux. “Sometimes it is back-to-back walks or something in the field. We need to step up and not let one thing become two. We’ll find ourselves in a good spot when we do that. We’ve got to get back to who we are. When we don’t play to our game, it feels bigger than it is. When we slow it down, good things happen.”
Auburn was held to four hits on Saturday against a returning Keagan Rothrock. AnnaLea Adams was the bright spot as she extended her hit streak to eight consecutive games.
It was a staff effort in the circle for the Tigers as Auburn used four different pitchers. Icess Tresvik earned the start and was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year. Haley Rainey, Chalea Clemmons and Malayna Tamborra also saw action on Saturday.
Free passes and errors plagued the Tigers as five of Florida’s 10 runs were unearned.
After a scoreless opening frame, Florida used a two-out rally to get on the board. Rose Roach made a diving stop at second base to keep a ball in the infield, but her throw to first was a touch late and resulted in a single. The Gators followed with a home run from Rylee Holtorf to take a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers found themselves in trouble in the fourth inning as Florida loaded the bases with one out. An Auburn error was followed by three straight walks and a single to left field to bring four Gators home.
One of Auburn’s best offensive opportunities came in the bottom of the fourth as Nelia Peralta and Adams led off with back-to-back singles. KK McCrary moved both into scoring with a sacrifice bunt. Florida’s Rothrock answered with back-to-back strikeouts to keep the Tigers off the board.
Florida added a seventh run in the fifth inning. After a hit by pitch a throwing error on a Kendra Falby single allowed both Gators to grab an extra base. An unearned run would score on a groundout on the next play.
The Gators put the game out of reach in the six after doubling home a pair of runs after back-to-back walks. A passed ball gave away a free base that would later allow an unearned run to score on single to left.
UP NEXT
The Tigers look to prevent the sweep on Sunday. First pitch on the SEC Network is set for 11 a.m. CT.