BY NOAH GRIFFITH
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN –– There’s no place like home for Auburn University softball.
After taking two-out-of-three over the weekend at home against No. 17 Alabama, Auburn will stay at Jane B. Moore field to host this year’s SEC Softball Tournament. Finishing the season at 27-18-1, the Tigers drew the No. 10 seed and will face No. 7-seed Georgia to begin postseason play at 4 p.m. CST on Wednesday.
Auburn went 19-10-1 on the Plains this season and played its final nine regular-season games there. The Tigers went 4-5 while playing Kentucky, Ole Miss and Alabama in that stretch. They only won the series with the Tide and took a game apiece in the other three-game series.
Auburn did not face Georgia (38-15) in the regular season. The Tigers went 9-15 in conference play in 2024.
If Auburns beats UGA, it will face No.2-seed Florida (43-12) on Thursday. Auburn didn’t play the Gators either, but it lost two-of-three to top-seeded Tennessee and was swept by No. 3 Texas A&M. The highest seeds Auburn won series’ with are No. 8-seed LSU and No. 9 Alabama. How-ever, it avoided being swept by any other squad than the Aggies.
Despite having one of the bottom offenses in the conference, transfers provided some bright spots in the lineup. DePaul transfer third baseman and catcher — Anna Wohlers — led the team with a .309 batting average, Maryland transfer first baseman – Amelia Lech — led the team with 12 homers and a 1.068 OPS, and in her second year at Auburn, NC A&T transfer outfielder — Icess Tresvick — led the club with 40 hits.
In their senior years, KK McCrary posted a .973 OPS with eight homers and Makayla Packer stole 15 bases with 30 base hits. Shelby Lowe went 8-4 with a 2.59 ERA and 69 strikeouts, and Maddie Penta posted a 14-10 record with a save and a 1.82 ERA and ranks fifth in the NCAA with 224 Ks.
The lefty-righty duo of Lowe and Penta will leave a historic legacy in Auburn after pitching for four seasons together. Penta now holds the program record for most career wins with 73, ranks second in program history with 901 career strikeouts and comes in at third in program history with a 1.77 career ERA. Lowe graduated with a 36-24 career record, 460 Ks and a 2.21 ERA.
With head coach Mickey Dean set to retire after this season, he along with the four seniors will look to finish the season strong. Dean is 206-109 at Auburn, according to the AU Athletics website, and Dean is looking for his first SEC Tournament victory in his seventh year at Auburn.
Dean helped Auburn Softball secure its 1,000tth win in program history in the season finale on Saturday, and it will be hoping to send Dean out with his first College World Series appearance – Auburn’s first since 2015.
