Auburn (24-15, 6-12) will travel to Oxford to face Ole Miss (25-22, 3-15) this weekend. The series is the second to last of the regular season and it's now or never time for the Tigers. Auburn took the series at top-10-ranked LSU just two weeks ago but dropped the series at home to Kentucky this past weekend. Now the Tigers hope to regain the road magic of two weeks ago and pick up another SEC series win before hosting rival Alabama to close out the regular season.
"Sometimes in a space of time, you aren't where you want to be when it comes to wins and losses," Auburn head coach Mickey Dean said after Auburn's Monday night win over Kentucky. "We're not where we want to be, but you have to look at home many 'championship' games, those final games of the series, that we have won. That's a big deal. It's going to mean a great deal at the end of the season and postseason. It shows us that we're good on championship day."
Ole Miss has the worst record of any SEC opponent Auburn has played this season, but that does not mean the Rebels will not present a challenge to the Tigers. The Rebels have six players batting at .280 or above this season. The high batting average of multiple Rebels could present problems for Auburn's pitchers.
Along with hitting for average, Ole Miss has multiple players who are a threat to hit the ball out of the park at any moment. Catcher Lexie Brady has hit 12 home runs this season with a .291 batting average. Utility player Aynslie Furbush adds to the power with seven home runs this season to go along with a .342 batting average.
The good news for Auburn - Shelby Lowe is pitching at an elite level currently. In Auburn's series finale win over Kentucky Monday night, Lowe threw seven innings allowing one earned run on five hits. Her late-season resurgence could make Auburn a series threat heading into the final two series of regular season play. Lowe will need to continue her dominance for Auburn to win the series in Oxford.
Auburn's bats have been inconsistent at times this season, but the Tigers should have plenty of opportunities to score runs against Ole Miss. The Rebels have a team ERA of 4.27 and opponents are hitting .277 against them. In the Rebels previous SEC series they gave up 15 total runs to their opponent in three games. If the Tigers get anywhere close to matching that number they will have an excellent chance to win the series.
While the season so far has not gone as Auburn may have hoped the Tigers can still finish strong. A series win in Oxford this weekend just might propel Auburn to a strong finish to the season and into the postseason. Whether the Tigers can take advantage will be determined this weekend.
The first pitch of game one is slated for 5:00 PM Friday. The game will air on the Auburn Sports Network and the SEC Network. Game two will begin at 3:00 PM Saturday and game three at noon Sunday. Each of those games will air on SEC Network+ and the Auburn Sports Network.
