AUBURN, Ala. – In the final road contest of the regular season, Auburn softball (27-20) treks to Mobile to face in-state foe South Alabama (17-27) Wednesday at Jaguar Field in the Tigers’ midweek finale.
“We have to remember that every single game matters right now,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “We’re going into the game to win. The other piece is remembering the game back in March and how South Alabama was in control for most of the game. We’ve got to make sure that we’re locked in, play our game and take control early. We’ll have to pitch well. We had a difficult time with their lineup. We need to score in every opportunity we have.”
First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+. JJ Jackson will have radio coverage on WEGL 91.1 FM and the Auburn Sports Network.
Auburn leads the all-time series with a 7-2 record, which includes Auburn’s 7-6 victory at Jane B. Moore Field last month. In that contest, South Alabama jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. A six-RBI performance by Anna Wohlers and a walk-off home run from AnnaLea Adams completed the comeback win for the Tigers. The Tigers are 2-0 in games played at Jaguar Field and are making their first trip to Mobile since 2011.
South Alabama enters the midweek contest after being swept last weekend at Louisiana. The Ragin’ Cajuns held South Alabama to just one run over the series. Over the last 15 games, the Jaguars have one just three times. South Alabama has been held to five or fewer hits in 11 of its 12 losses over that span.
Gabby Stagner leads South Alabama in multiple offensive categories, including home runs (10), slugging percentage (.676) and RBI (36). She’s added 12 multi-RBI games and nine multi-hit games this season. Presley Lively leads the Sun Belt Conference with 30 walks. She ranks fourth in the conference with 40 runs scored. In the circle, Ryley Harrison leads the team with seven wins. She holds a 3.02 earned run average and has struck out 78.
Auburn is looking to return to the win column after dropping three games at No. 4 Tennessee. The Tigers are 6-1 against in-state foes under Chris & Kate Malveaux. The lone loss came in a midweek doubleheader split with UAB.
Adams continues to impress over her freshman campaign. She connected for her ninth home run of the season during the Georgia series and is now tied with Jessie Blaine (2022) for the fourth most home runs ever hit by a Tiger freshman. She also enters the midweek with the second highest batting average (.406) and third highest slugging percentage (.717) recorded by an Auburn freshman.
Despite not playing in nine of Auburn’s 47 games, the freshman still ranks in the top five on the team in hits (43), RBI (32), doubles (6), home runs (9) and total bases (76).
Auburn has surpassed its 2024 team home run total (45) and its 2024 team runs scored total (213) and did so in just 42 games. Auburn’s 55 home runs this season is currently the eighth most hit in a single season and the most slugged by the Tigers since 2023 (64). Auburn has scored 10 or more runs eight times this season after doing so only twice in 2024. Auburn is 8-0 when scoring 10 or more runs and 17-1 this season when scoring at least six runs.
Icess Tresvik leads the Tiger sluggers with 10 home runs. It marks the first time since her 2021 freshman season at North Carolina A&T that Tresvik has hit double-digit home runs in a season. She ranks 24th in the league in total home runs while her 16 stolen bases are good for ninth.
SJ Geurin is fourth in the SEC and 20th nationally with 17 wins in the circle. Geurin has been directly involved in 21 of Auburn’s 27 victories by either recording the win or the save. She leads Auburn with a 3.09 ERA and 78 strikeouts.
Auburn boasts the second toughest schedule in the country as its opponents hold a .665 winning percentage entering the midweek. The Tigers are also one of 19 teams nationally to have 12 or more wins over teams currently ranked in the top 50 of the NCAA RPI.