Auburn softball secured a 10-3 victory over Jacksonville State on March 18 at Jane B. Moore Field, with key contributions from Ma’Nia Womack and McKaela Walker. The Tigers improved their record to 21-10, while the Gamecocks fell to 20-9.
The game was highlighted by two home runs from Auburn, including a grand slam by senior McKaela Walker—her third of the season—and a three-run homer by junior Ma’Nia Womack. Both players now share the team lead with ten home runs each. Walker finished with three hits and five runs batted in, while Womack drove in three runs.
Co-head coach Chris Malveaux said, “We’ve done a good job lately of not letting teams stretch us out in the zone. You can look at any game and see pitchers trying to work the edges, and they fall behind. They’ve got to throw where it touches the plate for us to go for it.”
Pitcher Ella Harrison went the distance for Auburn, allowing just two earned runs across seven innings and recording her 300th career strikeout. Despite early defensive errors that allowed Jacksonville State to take an initial lead, Auburn responded quickly with timely hitting and took control of the game.
Malveaux addressed some defensive challenges: “It’s a hard lesson of learning that these mistakes cost runs. Until we come out ready, that’s something that we’re fighting right now. Maybe it is youth, but it can’t happen at this level. We’ve got to bring it to the field and be ready to go.”
Looking ahead, Malveaux said, “We’re kind of at the halfway point where the second half of the season is really getting going. We’ve got to regroup, refresh a little and understand that we’ve got some ball to go for.” Auburn will continue its midweek schedule on Monday when they host Florida A&M at Jane B. Moore Field.
