After producing a no-hit gem in Friday’s Plainsman Invite opener against Southeast Missouri, Auburn softball hoped to keep the momentum going by earning two more wins on Saturday.
Those dreams only halfway came true, as the Tigers suffered a split in Saturday’s twin bill. Auburn fell in its first game to defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa before bouncing back to run-rule Southeast Missouri in the second game of the day.
Here is a breakdown of how the second day of the Plainsman Invite shaped up for the Auburn Tigers.
NORTHERN IOWA 4 AUBURN 2
Game one of the day saw Auburn run into a stretch of bad luck in the 4th inning. The Tigers and Panthers were tied at 0-0 before Auburn committed three errors in the inning which led to four Northern Iowa runs. The Panthers extended its lead to 4-0 in the 6th inning on a solo home run. The Tigers tried to storm back in the 6th inning as [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] and [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] each recorded RBI singles to cut the lead in half.
[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] struck out 10 batters in the complete game effort, but the 4th inning errors cost her a chance to win the game. [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] led the Tigers in hits with two.
AUBURN 13 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5 (5 INNINGS)
The Tigers got back on track in game two of the day by blowing past Southeast Missouri in a run-rule effort. Auburn scored 13 runs on seven hits and three home runs. The biggest smash of the game came off the bat of [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], who hit a grand slam in the 3rd inning. [autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] added to the Tigers’ eight-run 3rd inning with a solo home run, the first of her Auburn career. Lech put Auburn on the board one inning earlier with her fifth home run of the season, a solo blast.
Shelby Lowe followed her no-hit performance in Friday’s win over the Redhawks by allowing just three hits in 2 1/3 innings of work. [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] got the win in relief by sitting down the only two batters she faced on 13 pitches.
SUNDAY’S ACTION
Auburn concludes the Plainsman Invite on Sunday with a rematch against Northern Iowa. First pitch between the Tigers and Panthers is set for 2 p.m. CT.
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