The No. 17 Auburn Tigers ended the regular season on a high note on Sunday by shutting out Mississippi State, 3-0, behind another stellar performance by [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag].
The junior began the game by singing her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. By the end of it, she walked off the field with an eight-strikeout, shutout performance in the circle to lift her team to a victory. She beat her pregame nerves on Sunday in order to establish a win.
“The national anthem definitely got my nerves worked up more than pitching did,” Penta said Sunday. “It was the biggest audience I have ever sung for. I was nervous, but really excited to do something I love for our seniors on their day.”
In a day dominated by pitching and defense, Penta won the battle with Mississippi State starter Reis Beuerlein by allowing just one hit in her complete game effort while walking just three batters. Penta’s lone hit allowed came in the very first at-bat by the Bulldogs when leadoff batter Chloe Malau’ulu hit a single to center field on the second pitch of the game. Penta would walk one more batter in the inning, but all three outs of the initial stanza resulted in strikeouts.
Auburn’s three runs came via the home run, with [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] getting the scoring started with a solo blast to dead center in the 3rd inning. Her unique home run put the Tigers up, 1-0.
“I was trying to get a pitch to drive, and I did,” Peralta said of her home run. “Credit to the centerfielder because she made a nice play on it, but I’m glad it got over.”
Senior [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] would hit a home run in her final game at Jane B. Moore Field. Her two-run blast in the 4th inning would extend Auburn’s lead to 3-0, which would be the final blow for the Tigers.
Now that the regular season has concluded, Auburn’s next stop will be Fayetteville, Arkansas for the SEC Softball Tournament beginning Tuesday. The Tigers get a favorable draw by earning the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will play the winner of No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Ole Miss on Thursday at 10 a.m. CT.
[ No. 3 Seed ]
🐅 @AuburnSoftball #SECSB x #SECTourney pic.twitter.com/mpXzYCWIak
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) May 7, 2023
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