Auburn was within one out of making a return trip to the SEC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2016, but the Tigers’ hopes of a conference title vanished with one swing Friday afternoon in Fayetteville, Ark.

Jordan Fabian crushed a two-out, two-run home run to left-center field off Shelby Lowe in the top of the seventh inning to lift 10th-seeded South Carolina to a 3-2 win against third-seeded Auburn at Bogle Park. Fabian’s round-tripper was just the Gamecocks’ second hit of the game, and it erased what was an otherwise strong pitching performance from the Tigers’ tandem of Lowe and Maddie Penta.

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Fabian was 0-for-9 with seven strikeouts in the SEC Tournament prior to that at-bat.

Lowe and Penta combined for 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball and carried a combined no-hitter into the sixth before a two-out single broke up the no-hit bid. The only run allowed by Auburn prior to Fabian’s no-doubter in the seventh came in the opening frame, when the Gamecocks plated an unearned run off Penta, the SEC Pitcher of the Year.

Penta was solid for three innings despite struggling with command for the second game in a row. In the top of the first, she issued a one-out walk, which came around to score thanks to a throwing error and sac fly that put Auburn in an early 1-0 hole.

The Tigers responded in the second inning, tying things up and taking the lead with a pair of runs in the inning. Makayla Packer tied the game with a one-out single through the left side, which scored pinch-runner Skylar Elkins from first with the help of a South Carolina fielding error. Packer advanced to third on the play before easily scoring on Roach’s ensuing double to put the Tigers ahead, 2-1.

Auburn held serve until the seventh inning thanks to the efforts of Penta and Lowe. Penta tossed three-plus innings, allowing the lone run in the first and striking out four, though she walked three and hit a batter. Two of those walks came in the fourth, as she issued back-to-back walks to open the inning before giving way to Lowe. The left-hander got out of the jam by retiring the first three South Carolina batters she faced.

Lowe allowed a one-out walk in the fifth but struck out the side before South Carolina broke up Auburn’s no-hit bid with a two-out single in the sixth. Lowe prevented the Gamecocks from making anything out of that hit, ending the inning by inducing a fly ball to right field.

Auburn had an opportunity to add to its lead in the bottom of the sixth, but after getting two runners on with just one out in the inning, the Tigers stranded both. It was a missed opportunity for Auburn, as its hopes of an SEC Tournament title slipped away in the seventh.

Lowe issued a leadoff walk to Hannah Hawley in the seventh, as South Carolina got the tying run aboard. Lowe got a flyout and a strikeout to push the Gamecocks to the brink—and get the Tigers within an out of a return to the championship game—before Fabian’s fateful swing.

Auburn had one final chance in the bottom of the inning, but after getting the tying run on base in the form of a leadoff single from Denver Bryant, the Tigers failed to put anything together as their run in Fayetteville unceremoniously ended. Now Auburn will await its NCAA Regional draw when the field of 65 is unveiled Sunday evening.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.