Softball On SI

Taylor Pannell’s Homer Completes Comeback for No. 6 Tennessee Softball vs Auburn

Taylor Pannell’s late home run capped a comeback win for No. 6 Tennessee softball, lifting the Lady Vols past Auburn to open the series.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Tennessee outfielder Taylor Pannell (3) hits a home run during an NCAA softball game between Tennessee and Duke at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
Tennessee outfielder Taylor Pannell (3) hits a home run during an NCAA softball game between Tennessee and Duke at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Taylor Pannell has been the best hitter in the Tennessee lineup this season, and she proved it again on Thursday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

With the score knotted at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Pannell crushed a two-run home run, lifting the No. 6 Lady Vols to a 4-2 win over Auburn.

Pannell's blast gave her 14 homers and 51 RBIs for the season, which leads the team. She is currently on pace to reach the top 10 in both categories in the Lady Vols' single-season record book.

The outfielder also leads the team in batting average (.447), runs scored (42), doubles (10), slugging percentage (.866), and on-base percentage (.546).

Tennessee struggled to get anything going offensively against Auburn until the final two frames. The Lady Vols surged for four runs with solo home runs from Sophia Nugent and Gabby Leach in the sixth.

Karlyn Pickens, the ace of the Lady Vols' pitching staff, improved to 18-4 with the complete game victory. She limited the Tigers to two earned runs on four hits, one walk, and struck out six.

Auburn’s Malayna Tamborra and SJ Guerin tossed five scoreless frames and scatted a combined five hits.

It was Tamborra's first SEC start and she tossed two scoreless innings. Guerin went 3.2 innings for the Tigers before leaving a tied game in the sixth. Haley Rainey was tagged with the loss, only recording one out before giving up the home run to Pannell.

Abbey Smith and Rose Roach got Auburn on the board in the top of the sixth with back-to-back infield singles. Nelia Peralta moved both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before AnnaLea Adam cleared the bags with a single to left field.

Tennessee and Auburn return to action Friday night for the second of three games at 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network+.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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