The Auburn Tigers are traveling down south this weekend to Clearwater, Florida, to play six teams in the span of four days at the Shriner’s Children Clearwater Invitational.
The field Auburn is up against includes Clemson, Virginia, UCF, Charlotte, No. 20 Liberty and No. 9 Oklahoma State. Auburn started off the campaign 5-0 after sweeping the Tiger Invitational this past weekend, taking down each UNC and Southern Illinois twice, and App State once.
The star of the weekend for the Tigers was shortstop Nelia Peralta. The senior was named Co-SEC player of the week after going 11-18 at the plate with five extra-base hits, scoring nine runs and driving in ten. Peralta’s biggest moment of the weekend came in the 10-9 victory over App State, where she sent a walk-off two-run blast over the left field wall in the ninth inning.
`Icess Tresvik and KK McCrary also had great weekends at the dish for the Tigers. Tresvik hit .588 on the weekend with three long balls, eight RBI’s and nine runs scored. McCrary hit .375 driving in six runs and scoring three times herself.
In the circle for Auburn, southpaw SJ Geurin had a solid weekend in her orange and blue debut. The former Oklahoma Sooner appeared in three games, notching a 2-0 record and 2.63 ERA across 16 innings. Geurin went the full distance in game one against North Carolina, propelling Auburn to an 8-1 victory allowing just one run on four hits.
The other transfer arm, Haley Rainey, appeared in four of the five games for Auburn, tossing seven and a third innings, striking out seven and allowing three runs. Chalea Clemmons started the final game of the weekend for the Tigers and silenced the North Carolina offense, limiting them to two hits and one run across her four innings on the rubber.
Let’s take a closer look into each opponent Auburn will be facing down in Clearwater.
Clemson Tigers
Clemson will come into Clearwater with a 3-2 record after spending the past weekend in Boca Raton, Florida. By game time, Auburn will be the third SEC team Clemson has faced so far in the short season. Clemson dropped a game 3-2 to Ole Miss in their season opener and will face off against Missouri prior to Auburn in Clearwater.
At the dish, Alex Brown led the Tigers offense hitting .500 through 18 at-bats. The senior infielder scored seven times and on-base at a .571 clip. Julia Knowler had a strong weekend as well, hitting .353 and driving in a team-leading six runs.
Brooke McCubbin and Reese Basinger each started two games for the Tigers in Boca Raton. McCubbin notched a win in her eleven and a third innings, holstering a 2.47 ERA. Basinger received the loss in both her starts, yet only allowed three total earned runs in her eight and two-thirds innings of work
Auburn will face off against Clemson on Thursday to open up the weekend at 3 p.m. CT.
Virginia Cavaliers
The Cavaliers opened up their season 3-2 after competing in the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia. Virginia lost their first two games, both to South Carolina by one run, before finishing the weekend with three-straight victories, outscoring their opponents 20-3 during those wins.
M.C. Eaton went 5-16 on the weekend with three doubles and four RBIs for the Cavaliers. Kelley Ayer and Macee Eaton both finished the weekend with a tying-team lead of five RBIs apiece.
On the rubber, Courtney Layne paced Virginia in innings pitched with ten and two-thirds. Layne allowed just three earned runs and seven hits while fanning 13 hitters in the weekend.
The Tigers will face off with the Cavaliers bright and early Friday morning at 9 a.m. CT.
UCF Knights
UCF started the year off 5-1 after hosting the Black & Gold Classic. The only game the Knights dropped was to No.12 Georgia 4-0.
Senior right-hander Kaitlyn Felton was tabbed the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week. Felton appeared in three of the Knights games, leaving the opposing team scoreless in her ten and two-thirds in the circle. Felton allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out nine hitters.
In the box, Samantha Rey and Sierra Humphreys paved the way for the UCF offense. Rey led the team in average and on-base percentage, with an average of .467 and an OBP of .529. Humphreys led the team with four doubles, and six RBIs, while also hitting .412. However, the Knights have yet to hit a homer six games into the season.
Auburn will take on UCF Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT.
Charlotte 49ers
Auburn will look to continue their success against teams in the state of North Carolina when they play Charlotte Saturday at noon CT.
Charlotte opened their season in Baton Rouge at the Tiger Classic where they went 2-3. They took down Southeastern Louisiana to open the year before dropping three straight in the tournament, two to No.10 LSU and one to SLU.
As a team, Charlotte struggled offensively hitting for a team average of .154 throughout the weekend. In the five games, the 49ers had seven RBIs and a .233 OBP as a team.
Things didn’t get too much better in the circle for the 49ers. They will travel down to Clearwater with a 7.16 ERA as a staff. Brooke Bowling started three of the five games for Charlotte and allowed 12 earned across 12.1 innings.
No.9 Oklahoma State Cowgirls
On paper, the Cowgirls will be Auburn’s toughest matchup of the weekend. The Cowgirls come in with a 2-2 record after a tough slate of games in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, including a split with No.9 Florida State
The schedule for OSU doesn't get easier this week either. They were given the toughest draw of the weekend out of any team, having to face No.4 UCLA, No.5 Texas A&M, No.12 Alabama and No.24 Kentucky, along with Auburn.
Megan Delgadillo had a good weekend at the plate going 8-14 with a pair of RBIs and four runs scored. Karli Godwin went 5-10 with a double and three RBIs. As a team, Oklahoma State hit for a solid .321 average.
However, in the circle is where the cowgirls struggled with a team ERA of 5.03 through the first four games. Ruby Meylan and Katie Kutz were two bright spots in that staff, both with ERAs under three and a win recorded apiece.
The Tigers will take on Oklahoma State on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.
No. 20 Liberty Flames
Wrapping up the weekend, Auburn will face off against Liberty Sunday morning at 11 a.m. CT. Liberty is the only team Auburn is set to face that remains undefeated with a 5-0 record.
Paige Bachman will enter the weekend as the C-USA Pitcher of the Week after tossing 13.2 innings of shutout softball. Bachman notched three wins, despite only starting one game, and struck out 16 hitters. As a staff, the Flames are holding opposing hitters to a .182 average.
KK Madrey started the year off 9-16, plating seven runs and scoring five times herself. Madrey also stole a whopping seven bases on eight attempts. Brooke Roberts opened up the campaign with a 7-17 weekend, driving in six runs and hitting a round-tripper.
The entirety of Auburn’s games will be broadcast through WEGL 91.1 FM and the Auburn Athletics app with JJ Jackson on the call. Auburn’s match-ups with Clemson and Virginia will be aired on ESPN2. The rest of the Tiger’s games will be available to stream on ESPN+.
