Maddie Penta likes to finish what she starts.

There's a reason she was the Southeastern Conference's Pitcher of the Year. She won 27 games this season, struck out more than 300 batters, gave the Tigers a path to 40 wins and a Top 25 ranking.

Yet Sunday was different. The junior went the distance in Auburn's 5-2 win in Game 1, but eventually the toll of 186 pitches in three-plus hours catches up with even the strongest athletes. And so Penta was removed during the second inning of Game 2, her body and arm fully sacrificed for the Tigers' cause.

Auburn accomplished little after she left.

Clemson won the deciding game 5-1 Sunday, thereby ending the Tigers' season on the same diamond and against the same team from a year ago.

The day wasn't a total downer from an Auburn perspective. First baseman Bri Ellis launched a three-run homer in Game 1 that set a hopeful, confident tone for the visitors. Penta's control wobbled a bit at times, sure, but she generally limited damage and continued to challenge every hitter she faced.

Penta always challenges. Nothing is routine.

Game 2 began approximately 30 minutes after Game 1 ended and that afforded Penta little time to refresh. Clemson ace Valerie Cagle was removed after three innings in the early game and had that time to refocus and refule.

Penta labored through the first inning of Game 2 and her second inning wasn't much better. Her control wasn't as reliable as usual and her velocity, which typically hovers around 70 mph, began to dip into the mid-60s.

Coach Mickey Dean had no choice. He turned to Shelby Lowe, who pitched reasonably well yet conceded two runs in two innings. That was too much for an Auburn team that struggled to accomplish much of anything against Cagle during that second game.

Twelve of the Tigers' final 14 batters in Sunday's nightcap were retired without incident. The other two were singles — in different innings. There was no continuity. There was no rally.

Auburn's season ends with a 43-19 record. The team finished in 3rd place among the 13 SEC softball programs.