Auburn softball begins its run at the SEC Tournament on Wednesday as the No. 10 seed in this year’s field, with their first matchup against the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs at 4 p.m. CT.
The matchup will be interesting as the SEC’s home run-leading Bulldogs matchup with the SEC’s strikeout leader in Auburn’s [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag]. As tournaments will tell you, it is not about which team is the best at the season’s end, but which team gets hot at the right time. This is why Auburn is considered a sneaky favorite to come away with the SEC Tournament crown on its home field.
In its SEC Tournament preview, D1Softball’s Rhiannon Potkey lists Auburn as a “dark horse” to win the SEC Tournament. The Tigers enter the tournament with momentum after winning two low-scoring affairs against rival Alabama last weekend, and it could carry on into this weekend’s action.
Auburn’s offense may not have shown up in several clutch situations this season, but Auburn’s pitching staff can give the Tigers a chance to win any game they play writes Potkey:
Maddie Penta and Shelby Lowe give any team a chance to pull off some upsets and make a run. Penta has been a workhorse her entire career. The reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year is 14-10 with a 1.82 ERA in 173.1 innings pitched and with 224 strikeouts. Lowe is pitching her best since injuries sidetracked the lefty as a sophomore; senior can see her career coming to a close and is rising to the moment. The Tigers have the same issue as South Carolina (and Alabama)–their offense goes dormant for long stretches. If they can get some more production or at least clutch hits, they could be dangerous as they try to send head coach Mickey Dean into retirement with a strong finish.
Penta leads the SEC with 224 strikeouts, a whopping 42 more than the next pitcher, Tennessee‘s Karlyn Pickens. [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] has been a great supporting pitcher by striking out 69 batters over 73.0 innings with an ERA of 2.59. If both pitchers are performing well this week, and the Tigers’ bats begin to warm up, Auburn could easily make a deep run in this year’s SEC Tournament.