Auburn softball defeated Ole Miss 13-3 in five innings on April 26, powered by an explosive 11-run fourth inning at Jane B. Moore Field. The win prevented Ole Miss from sweeping the series and marked Auburn’s final home game of the season.
The game was notable for Auburn’s comeback after trailing by one run going into the fourth. The Tigers’ offense surged with four hits and seven walks during that inning, allowing them to take control and end the game early due to the run-rule. Junior Alyssa Hastings played a key role, recording two doubles, scoring twice, and driving in four runs during the fourth alone.
“Ultimately, we knew that Ole Miss was going to try to make us force ourselves out,” said co-head coach Kate Malveaux. “We knew they were going to come over the plate at some point. It was about controlled aggression. When we got our pitch, we got the swing off. We weren’t overly out of ourselves trying to make it happen.” Malveaux also praised Hastings’ performance: “Hastings shows the way for a lot of our team and frees them up to do it. She knows who she is and how to go attack what she’s got. It’s really great to see her take charge of it, especially this late in the season, to build some momentum that we need down the stretch.”
Auburn started strong by loading the bases in the first inning and scoring two runs with help from sophomore AnnaLea Adams’ sacrifice fly and an error from Ole Miss’ defense. However, all three Rebels’ runs came in their half of the second inning as they used five singles for their offense.
In addition to Hastings’ contribution, senior Destiny Rodriguez led off Auburn’s big fourth with a walk before redshirt sophomore Kyla Stroud tied things up with a pinch-hit single. Freshman Haven Roebuck added an RBI single as well before Adams drew a bases-loaded walk.
Redshirt freshman Abby Herndon (5-4) earned relief victory honors for Auburn by retiring six of seven batters faced over two innings while striking out two.
Malveaux summed up her team’s effort: “We’re a group that you just can’t count out,” she said. “We showed that today. They’re fighting like crazy… We are picking up momentum at the right time so we’re going to carry that down into Baton Rouge.”
Looking ahead, Auburn will travel for its final regular-season series against No. 14 LSU beginning Friday.
