The No. 25 Auburn Tigers needed late game heroics to earn its first win of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge over Wichita State on Wednesday. The trend would continue Thursday as Auburn pulled off two more late-inning victories.
[autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag]’s two home run day in game one against UC Davis and a bases-loaded walk in the final frame of game two against No. 13 Utah keeps Auburn unbeaten on the week.
AUBURN 6 UC-DAVIS 3
Auburn hopped on the Aggies quickly on an Amelia Lech grand slam in the bottom of the 1st inning to give the Tigers a 4-0 advantage. The score would remain until the top of the 6th inning when UC Davis used two singles and smart base running to trim the Tiger lead to 4-3.
In a moment of need, Lech was called upon again in the bottom of the 6th. She delivered again by crushing her second home run of the game. Her two-run blast ultimately became the winning run, as the [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] closed out the game by shutting down the Aggies in the 7th.
Lech was responsible for all six of Auburn’s runs in the win over UC Davis. [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] and [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] joined Lech in recording two hits in the win. [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] got the win for Auburn in the circle by striking out five batters and allowing two earned runs in 5.0 innings. Widra earned the save.
AUBURN 1 NO. 13 UTAH 0
The second game of the day was a treat for those who enjoy great defensive play. The Tigers and Utes combined to record 13 base hits, and a combined total of 19 runners were left on, but it would be a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 7th that decided the game.
Makayla Packer showed patience at the plate by watching four straight pitches sail out of the zone to earn a base on balls. The four-pitch walk scored [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] from 3rd base to lift Auburn over the No. 13 Utah Utes.
Auburn recorded a hit in every inning of their win over Utah, but managed to leave 10 runners stranded. McCrary was the lone Tiger to earn multiple hits in the game, while Nelia Peralta was left on base five times.
[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] went the distance for Auburn in the win over Utah. She allowed six hits and two walks while striking out five batters.
NEXT GAME
Auburn will have a rare day off Friday as rain is expected to wash out play at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. The Tigers will return to play on Saturday as they face No. 8 Clemson in a regional rematch from last season. Clemson is 2-0 so far on the week with wins over Wichita State and UC-San Diego.
Auburn and Clemson will battle on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on FloSoftball‘s website.
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