Mickey Dean explains key for pitcher Maddie Penta in SEC Tournament vs. Georgia

Auburn and Georgia are off to a back-and-forth start through the first-half of their SEC Tournament matchup on Wednesday.

Thanks to the Bulldogs’ bats, Tigers pitcher Maddie Penta was forced tho throw 63 pitches in the first three innings. In that time, she let up two hits on two earned runs, walking three and striking out three more.

“She’s working hard. It’s all about with them getting ahead,” Auburn head coach Mickey Dean told ESPN’s Holly Rowe ahead of the third inning. “You’ve got to get ahead in the count. Otherwise, you you start working yourself into those 10–11 pitching at-bats. If you work yourself ahead, you can work out of it. The key is you can’t work again but the past fall because they’re jumping on the first pitch.

“They’re going deep in the count, but they’re attacking the first pitch. So we have to be able to attack the zone with something other than a fastball.”

While his pitcher heeds his advice, Dean gave one piece of guidance to his players in the box.

“Hitting is all about making good decisions,” Dean continued. “And I think we’re making pretty good decisions on the balls that we’re swinging down. And when you do that, you’re gonna have some success. It’s going to be a cat-and-mouse.”

The Tigers and Dawgs remained knotted at two runs each down the stretch. Catch the exciting finish live on the SEC Network and the winner of this matchup will advance to face the 2-seeded Florida Gators in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Thursday afternoon.

2024 SEC Softball Tournament bracket, schedule

Tuesday, May 7

Game 1: Ole Miss 7, Kentucky 2

Wednesday, May 8

Game 2: LSU 3, Alabama 2
Game 3: Missouri 3, Ole Miss 1
Game 4: No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Auburn, 4 p.m. on SEC Network
Game 5: No. 6 Mississippi State vs. No. 11 South Carolina, 35 minutes after Game 4 on SEC Network

Thursday, May 9

Game 6: No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 8 LSU, 10 a.m. on SEC Network
Game 7: No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 5 Missouri, 35 minutes after Game 6 on SEC Network
Game 8: No. 2 Florida vs. Game 4 winner, 4 p.m. on SEC Network
Game 9: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Game 5 winner, 35 minutes after Game 8 on SEC Network

Friday, May 10

Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 3 p.m. on ESPN2
Game 11: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 35 minutes after Game 10 on ESPN2

Saturday, May 11

Championship Game: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 4 p.m. on ESPN2

All times are CT.