AUBURN, Ala. – Trailing by two in bottom of the seventh, Auburn softball (27-15, 4-14 SEC) scored six runs with help of a walk-off grand slam from KK McCrary to take down No. 19 Georgia (27-15, 5-12 SEC) 8-4 Sunday at Jane B. Moore Field, securing back-to-back Southeastern Conference series wins.
“We just needed base runners,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “(Kylie) Brockman stepped up, and the offense just trickled from there. Felt like Georgia tried to force some pitches to get us to bite early, but we weren’t going to swing unless it was right down the barrel. We worked as many walks as we could, and it worked out to put us in a good spot with AnnaLea (Adams) and a few batters later KK (McCrary). I’m really proud of the team for finding a way to center back one at-bat at a time to put us in a position to score when we needed it.”
OUR WALK-OFF QUEEN! 👑#WarEagle | @MccraryCaitlyn pic.twitter.com/CTiA05RcwQ
— Auburn Softball (@AuburnSoftball) April 13, 2025
The win was the 19th come-from-behind win of the season for the Tigers, which leads the nation. Auburn closed the series with 10 home runs, the most in a three-game series since hitting nine versus South Carolina in 2022. It was McCrary’s second walk-off home run of the series. In the last four games against Georgia, McCrary has hit four home runs.
“It felt great,” McCrary said. “With that first stretch in SEC play, it was super tough. I tried to be a leader. I felt like I wasn’t playing my best ball and went internal. Just the way that my team has picked me up has pushed me through the season. I’m glad I was able to come through for Auburn.’
Georgia took advantage of a pair of free passes and was aggressive on the bases with three steals in the first frame. The Bulldogs plated three runs off a pair of singles to take a 3-0 lead.
Randi Roelling held Auburn’s offense to one hit through the first four innings of the game and looked to be cruising to an easy win. Amelia Lech sparked the rally in the top of the fifth, leading off the frame with a solo home run to center.
Auburn cut it to a one-run game in the bottom of the sixth. With Nelia Peralta on board with a walk, Icess Tresvik dropped a one-out bunt. The throw to first was errant and allowed Peralta to score.
Jaydyn Goodwin led off the seventh with a double for the Bulldogs, which ultimately allowed Georgia to add an insurance run with help of a two-out single.
Kylie Brockman sparked the epic Auburn rally by leading off the seventh with an infield single. Rose Roach followed with a free base after a hit by pitch while Abbey Smith moved both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.
Peralta loaded the bases for AnnaLea Adams with her second walk of the game. Adams locked the game up at 4-4 after driving in two with a single to left field.
Tresvik loaded the bases once again with Auburn’s second walk of the frame to set the table for McCrary. She connected with a pitch right down the middle that she drove to left field for her first career grand slam to pick up Auburn’s first series win versus Georgia since 2022.
Malayna Tamborra and Haley Rainey were incredibly effective in relief for the Tigers. Tamborra tossed 2.2 scoreless innings and stranded six Bulldogs to keep the Tigers in the game. Rainey (6-3) tossed the final 3.2 innings of the game to earn the win in relief. She gave up just one run off four hits and struck out a pair.
“Haley (Rainey) did a great job of making adjustments and keeping the ball down,” added Malveaux. “She had command of her change-up. Georgia saw Malayna (Tamborra) yesterday for three innings. She put herself in a position to get outs, and she hit her spots. Georgia never got comfortable to sit on things. If it wasn’t for those two, we were probably out of that game.”
UP NEXT
Auburn will look to make it three consecutive SEC series wins as the Tigers travel to No. 7 Tennessee in their final road series of the season. First pitch on Thursday is set for 5 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+.