Auburn softball hosts No. 18 Georgia for MalveauxMania

Looking to win back-to-back Southeastern Conference series, Auburn softball (25-16, 2-13 SEC) hosts No. 18 Georgia (26-13, 4-10 SEC) for MalveauxMania at Jane B. Moore Field.

Auburn softball hosts No. 18 Georgia for MalveauxManiaAuburn softball hosts No. 18 Georgia for MalveauxMania
Abby Holbrook/Auburn Tigers
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Auburn vs. Georgia

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AUBURN, Ala. – Looking to win back-to-back Southeastern Conference series, Auburn softball (25-16, 2-13 SEC) hosts No. 18 Georgia (26-13, 4-10 SEC) for MalveauxMania at Jane B. Moore Field.

“Georgia has been up and down a little bit,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “Hopefully we can take a step forward after this past weekend and take advantage of that while we are home. Georgia can wake up at any given time. They have a history of doing so. We have to make sure we’re doing what we do best. We have to play with energy and ready to go. It’s a series that can go either way, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to win.”

The series begins Friday evening with MalveauxMania, a professional wrestling themed game for the Tigers. Fans will receive a free MalveauxMania poster while supplies last and a poster station will be available for fans to create signs. First pitch on the SEC Network is set for 5 p.m. CT with Madison Shipman and Eric Frede with the call. 

Both Saturday and Sunday’s contests are available on the SEC Network+. JJ Jackson and Auburn softball alum Kim Owens will have the call on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT. Sunday’s finale is set for 1 p.m. CT. Jackson will be joined by Auburn softball alum Amy Reif. 

Brit Bowen will have the radio call for all three games of the series on WEGL 91.1 FM and the Auburn Sports Network.

Georgia leads the all-time series with a 41-26 mark and has taken the last three contests, which includes an epic showdown between the two teams at the 2024 SEC Tournament. That meeting ended in 14 innings and holds the record for the longest game in SEC Tournament history. Auburn is looking for its first series win over the Bulldogs since 2022. 

The Bulldogs snapped a five-game losing skid on Wednesday with a 3-2 midweek win versus USC Upstate. In SEC play, Georgia is searching for its first SEC series win of the season after dropping series to No. 4 Texas A&M, Alabama, No. 3 LSU, No. 9 South Carolina and No. 7 Tennessee.

Jaydyn Goodwin leads Georgia at the plate with a .352 average. She has totaled 44 hits, 30 runs scored and 35 RBI this season. She has registered 12 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games this season. In SEC action, Tyler Ellison leads the team with a .359 average, which is 56 points higher than her next closest teammate. 

In the circle, Lilli Backes and Rando Roelling have seen the most action for the Bulldogs. Backes lead the team with 11 wins and 93 strikeouts. She holds a 3.24 ERA in the circle. Only tossing 39.0 innings thus far, Rachel Gibson holds the lowest ERA on the team with a 2.69 mark. 

Auburn split a midweek doubleheader with UAB on Wednesday night. The Tigers are looking to build SEC momentum after taking down Kentucky in Lexington for the first time since 2016. It was the first SEC series win of the season. 

AnnaLea Adams continues to lead the team with her impressive rookie campaign. She slugged her eighth home run of the season Wednesday night, which tied Tatiana Fernandez and Carlee Wallace for the fifth most home runs ever hit by a Tiger freshman. She also enters the weekend with the second highest batting average (.398) and third highest slugging percentage (.739) recorded by an Auburn freshman. 

Despite not playing in nine of Auburn’s 41 games, the freshman still ranks in the top five on the team in hits (35), RBI (23), doubles (6), home runs (8) and total bases (65).

At the plate, Auburn is just one home run shy of matching its entire 2024 team total of 45. The Tigers are also five runs shy of also matching their total run production from a season ago. Adams is in a three-way tie for the team lead in home runs with Icess Tresvik and Anna Wohlers as the trio have knocked 24 of Auburn’s 44 home runs this season. 

Tresvik and Wohlers join Nelia Peralta as returning starters that have surpassed their 2024 home run totals while Abbey Smith, Rose Roach and Kylie Brockman have all hit the first home runs of their respective careers. 

SJ Geurin is tied for the SEC lead and ranks tied for third nationally with 17 wins in the circle. Geurin has been directly involved in 21 of Auburn’s 25 victories by either recording the win or the save. She leads Auburn with a 2.74 ERA and 74 strikeouts.

Haley Rainey has been the most effective Tiger pitcher over the course of the last six games. In that span, she’s made five appearances and has allowed just two earned runs through 19.2 innings for a 0.71 ERA.

Auburn boasts the fourth toughest schedule in the country as its opponents hold a .668 winning percentage entering the weekend. The Tigers are also one of 18 teams nationally to have 10 or more wins over teams currently ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA RPI.