Auburn softball lost to No. 6 Arkansas, 4-0, on April 5 at Bogle Park as the Razorbacks clinched the series with a strong display of power hitting.
The defeat leaves Auburn searching for answers after a game where offensive struggles continued and Arkansas relied on home runs for all its scoring. The Tigers were held to just two hits and failed to score despite putting runners on base in six out of seven innings.
Co-head coach Chris Malveaux said, “I felt like we pitched and played defense well enough to win that game. SJ (Geurin) did a great job of attacking the zone and making Arkansas make some tough decisions. The three balls they happened to square up all left the yard. That’s the difference in the game.”
Malveaux also addressed the team’s recent difficulties: “It’s just where we’re at right now. No matter how we got here, it feels like whatever can go wrong is going wrong. We’ve just got to scrap and fight and find our way out of it.”
Junior Alyssa Hastings and freshman Daigle Wilson each singled for Auburn, while starting pitcher SJ Geurin retired five batters in order before giving up a solo home run that started Arkansas’ scoring. Freshman Charley Butler contributed with a scoreless inning in relief.
Looking ahead, Malveaux emphasized teamwork: “The biggest thing is mentally we have to stick together as a team and not get caught up in the outside noise,” he said. “We have to stay together. We have to keep our heads down. We have to keep scrapping and fighting. It’s going to happen. We have to stay ‘hands on the pavement’ and get after it.”
Auburn will play Monday’s series finale against Arkansas at 6 p.m., broadcast on SEC Network with local radio coverage available as well. The Tigers return home April 10-12 for Alumni Weekend against Alabama, including special events such as “All for Alex” day honoring former Mississippi State player Alex Wilcox.
