TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WHNT) — Auburn softball’s (35-24) offense took an 8-3 win Sunday afternoon at JoAnne Graf Field to force the if necessary game at the Tallahassee Regional, but stumbled 4-0 to (5) Florida State (49-10) in the championship contest.
“Just proud of our team,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “It’s been a long year with a lot of ups and downs. It was almost like two or three different seasons within one. We started off hot, struggled in the middle and then found our groove toward the backend. I’m just proud of how they grinded this year. This weekend was indicative of how they battled throughout the season. I’m just proud of how hard they fight and how hard they work their butts off. Obviously, I wished we could have finished it off today but truly proud of the way they fought. It’s been a fun year.”
Auburn scored 13 hits across the two games, including seven two-out base hits in Sunday’s opening contest. Icess Tresvik led the Tigers at the plate with a 2-for-4 effort with a double, two walks and two RBI. Anna Wohlers drove in three runs for the Tigers with the help of a home run.
SJ Geurin tossed 10 of 13 innings. She allowed just six hits to hold Florida State to a .170 average at the plate. She struck out five on Sunday.
AUBURN 8, FLORIDA STATE 3
Isa Torres led off the game with a solo home run for the Seminoles, but Haley Rainey settled down and retired the next three batters she faced to keep it a one-run game. Florida State drew a pair of two-out walks in the second inning to break up Rainey’s streak of five straight retired, but KK McCrary made a leaping grab in left field to steal a hit to end the frame.
Rainey was lifted in the third frame for Geurin. She picked up where the senior left off, stranding a Seminole at third to keep it a 1-0 game.
Auburn was held hitless until the third inning when Abbey Smith broke up the no-hit bid with a two-out bunt single. It was Smith’s team-leading sixth hit of the Regional.
Auburn broke through in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run from McCrary to straightaway center to tie the game. It was her 11th home run of the season to match her career high.
The Tigers kept applying pressure with back-to-back walks. Florida State’s Julia Apsel countered with a strikeout, but Tresvik came up clutch with a two-out double down the left field line to clear the bases and put Auburn in front 3-1.
Auburn’s offense made a comeback in the bottom of the fifth with a massive two-out rally, beginning with back-to-back singles from AnnaLea Adams and McCrary. Wohlers and Rose Roach knocked back-to-back home runs to build a 7-1 lead. Wohlers knocked her 10th home run of the season to become the fifth different Tiger with 10 or more in 2025.
After giving up a walk to lead off the third, Geurin retired nine straight to keep the Seminoles stagnant at the plate. Florida State would not see a base runner until the sixth inning as Florida State led off with a walk, followed by a home run to cut the lead to 7-3. The left-hander responded with three straight outs to silence the rally.
The Tigers used more two-out magic in the sixth to add an insurance run. With Smith on board with a walk, Nelia Peralta doubled down the left field line to push the lead to 8-3. Geurin carried the Tigers to the finish line by retiring the side in order in the top of the seventh to secure her 23rd win of the season, the seventh most recorded in a single season at Auburn.
AUBURN 0, FLORIDA STATE 4
The Tigers opened the game with back-to-back singles from Peralta and Adams, but were unable to get on the board as the next three batters went down in order. Florida State, however, took advantage of the first inning, scoring behind a two-run blast from Michaela Edenfield.
Auburn continued to put traffic on the bases with base runners in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, including loading the bases in the fifth, but the Seminoles were able to keep the Tigers scoreless and left 10 stranded.
Florida State added to its lead in the fifth with a pinch-hit home run and in the sixth with an RBI double. The Tigers battled to their last out but failed to push across a run in the seventh inning.
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