FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Leading by one and down in the final out, No. 16 Auburn softball (40-17) couldn't close the door as South Carolina's (37-19) seventh-inning rally led the Gamecocks to a 3-2 win at the SEC Tournament Semifinals on Friday.
"Both teams battled well,' said head coach Mickey Dean. "It wasn't the cleanest game. Sometimes that all you ask of you team is to go out there and battle and play. We'll go back and look at the mistakes and make adjustments before the remainder of postseason."
SEC Pitcher of the Year Maddie Penta earned the start in the circle and kept the Gamecocks hitless through three innings. The right-hander gave up an unearned run in the first inning as South Carolina capitalized on an Auburn error and scored a run on a sacrifice fly. Penta struck out four in the start.
Coming into the game in relief in the fourth inning with two on and no outs, Shelby Lowe slammed the door with three straight outs to hold Auburn's 2-1 lead. Lowe would carry the no-hit bid into the sixth inning as the Gamecocks broke it up with a two-out single up the middle.
A leadoff walk in the top of the seventh proved costly as down to its last out South Carolina knocked a two-run home run to take a 3-2 lead. The Tigers battled in the bottom half of the inning as Denver Bryant led off with a single to bring the winning run to the plate, but the Gamecocks retired the next three batters to advance to the SEC Tournament Championship game.
Auburn scored its lone runs of the game in the second inning. A South Carolina outfield error on a Makayla Packer single allowed the first Tiger run of the game to score before Rose Roach came through with another clutch hit, driving a double to the wall to put the Tigers in front.
"Softball comes with a lot of ups and downs, highs and lows," Roach said. "At the end of the day, it's all about learning. We learned something today. When we get back to Auburn, we're going to fix it and get ready for postseason."
All eyes now turn to Selection Sunday as the Tigers await their NCAA postseason fate. The NCAA Selection show will air on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. CT.
