AUBURN, Ala. – Despite trailing by eight runs, Auburn softball battled back to cut the deficit to two, but Ole Miss held on late for a 13-11 win to clinch the series Saturday at Jane B. Moore Field.
“It was a tough start for SJ (Geurin), which is extremely rare,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “It was a double whammy if you look back at the first inning. AnnaLea (Adams) hits a ball and their right fielder goes up to make the catch over the wall. It felt pretty heavy at that time, but kudos to our kids for bouncing back.”
The Rebels (30-21, 4-16 SEC) jumped out to an 8-0 lead through the first two innings, but Auburn’s offense never relented and used a five-run sixth inning to pull within two. Ole Miss ultimately held on in a back-and-forth contest.
“It was slightly relieving to see the team put up big numbers again,” Malveaux added. “It’s been a while since it felt like that. It’s something we’ve been chasing. I’m proud of the team for putting their heads down and going. They were feeding off each other, and it brought confidence to our hitters.”
Junior Alyssa Hastings led the charge offensively, going 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. She set a career high with seven RBI.
After loading the bases to open the game, Ole Miss used an RBI single and back-to-back sacrifice flies to take a 3-0 lead. The Rebels extended the advantage to 8-0 in the second inning with a pair of home runs.
Auburn (24-24, 3-17 SEC) responded in the bottom of the second. With two outs and the bases loaded, Hastings cleared the bases with a double to cut into the deficit. Ole Miss answered in the third with a pair of two-out RBI singles to extend its lead to 10-3.
The Tigers continued to respond. With the bases loaded and no outs, sophomore Kylie Shaw and Hastings drew back-to-back walks before senior McKaela Walker added a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 10-6.
Redshirt freshman Abby Herndon provided stability in the circle, tossing back-to-back scoreless innings in the fourth and fifth to keep Auburn within striking distance but Ole Miss capitalized on a pair of Auburn errors in the sixth to score three unearned runs.
Auburn answered with its biggest inning of the day in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Delaney Aumua led off with a pinch-hit single followed by a base hit from Shaw. Hastings delivered the big swing with a three-run home run to center. Walker kept the rally going with a double before sophomore AnnaLea Adams added a two-run home run to make it a two-run game.
The rally forced a pitching change for the Rebels. Emilee Boyer retired six of the final seven batters she faced to halt Auburn’s comeback bid.
GAME NOTES
- Kylie Shaw drew a walk in the first inning and has now reached safely in 44 of Auburn’s 48 games this season. She now has 45 walks this season, tying Morgan Estell (2014) for fifth most in a single season in program history.
- Alyssa Hastings set a career high with seven RBI, tying for the second most RBI by a Tiger in a single game. It was last accomplished by Tannon Snow at Tennessee on April 6, 2019. It marked her sixth multi-RBI game of the season and the 21st of her career.
- Hastings recorded her 10th double of the season, tying Shaw for the team lead. She now has 35 career doubles. She also hit her sixth home run of the season, bringing her career total to 14.
- Hastings finished 2-for-4 and is now tied for the team lead with 11 multi-hit games this season, increasing her career total to 41.
- McKaela Walker recorded her seventh double of the season, bringing her career total to nine.
- AnnaLea Adams hit her sixth home run of the season and now has 16 in her career. It marked her eighth multi-RBI game of the season and the 21st of her career.
- Ma’Nia Womack recorded her eighth multi-hit game of the season and 10th of her career. Her double in the sixth was her third of the season and fourth of her career.
UP NEXT
Sunday’s series finale is slated for 12 p.m. CT on SEC Network. Fans can listen locally on WEGL 91.1 FM or stream the audio on the Auburn Tigers mobile app and website. The Tigers will honor seniors Destiny Rodriguez and McKaela Walker in a pregame ceremony.