Auburn fell into an early 2-0 hole against the Troy Trojans but [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] and Auburn battled back to earn a 7-5 win over the Trojans Wednesday night at Jane B. Moore Field.
The Tigers are now 30-12 on the season and 12-2 at home.
The Trojans hit a two-run home run in the top of the first to strike first but the Tigers responded in the bottom of the inning. McCrary doubled to score [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] and then came around to score on a [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] double that also drove in [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] and gave Auburn a 3-2 lead.
“I thought we hit the ball well, ran the bases well, and I thought we played good defense,” head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] said. “The key is always to answer back, and I thought we were able to do that. When you answer back, it keeps the momentum on your side. We knew they were going to come in here ready. They didn’t play well at their place, and they’re a really good team. We knew they were going to come in here tonight ready to play.”
Troy tied it up in the second inning with a solo home run. After allowing three runs on two homers in the first two innings, Penta settled in and took over. Auburn’s ace allowed three runs over five innings and struck out seven batters.
The Tigers retook the lead in the third inning when Auburn hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] came around to score on an error and [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to give Auburn a 5-3 lead.
Auburn got some more breathing room in the fourth when McCrary hit a two-RBI single to make it 7-3. She finished the game with two hits and three RBIs.
“It felt great to get a win,” McCrary said. “They’re a good team. We’ve been working on hitting in high-pressure situations in practice, so I was really happy that I was able to come through for my team.”
Those runs proved crucial as the Trojans scored one run in the sixth and seventh inning to make it a 7-5 game.
The Tigers will return to SEC play this Friday when they host LSU at Jane B. Moore Field.
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