Tag: Amelia Lech

Auburn softball to compete in 2025 Rocket City Showcase

Auburn softball will invade the home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas next February.

The Rocket City Trash Pandas, the double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, announced Friday that it will host the inaugural Rocket City Showcase next February at Toyota Field in Madison. The field will feature 12 teams, including the Auburn Tigers.

Auburn will play five games as part of the round-robin style format, starting with Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 21. The Tigers will also play James Madison, North Alabama, Miami (Ohio), and Jax State over the weekend.

Teams such as Alabama, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State will join Auburn in Madison during the debut classic. Trash Panda’s GM Garrett Fahrmann is excited to share Toyota Field’s atmosphere with a new audience.

“A project like this only happens with everyone pulling together and we can’t wait to see Toyota Field take on a new look for this event in February,” Fahrmann said in a press release. “Our team is known for providing a fun and festive environment for Trash Pandas games and we will bring that same mindset to a great week of softball here at Toyota Field.”

Auburn softball will enter a new era in 2024 as Chris and Kate Malveaux take over as co-head coaches of the program. The Tigers will look to fill the void left behind by star pitcher [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag], but will return several key bats such as [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] and [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag].

Auburn will begin the season at the Clearwater Invatational the weekend prior to its trip to Huntsville. A full schedule for the Clearwater Invitational will be released in the fall.

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Amelia Lech returns to the Plains for another year

The slugger led the team with 12 home runs during the 2024 campaign.

With the conclusion of another season in Auburn softball, big decisions are now being made across the organization. The staff is trying to figure out who will replace [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] as the head coach, and players are trying to decide whether they should stay on the Plains or not.

For star transfer [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag], that decision was easy, as she announced her return to the Tigers’ organization on Monday.

A very consistent starter, Lech was the team’s leader in home runs with 12 on the season, posting six doubles to go along with it. This totaled over half of her hits as going for extra bases, being a vital source of offensive production on the team.

She posted a .239 batting average for the year with 37 RBIs, racking up 28 walks to go along with it. Her RBI count led the team during the season, while her walks were the second most.

She was also reliable in the field, posting .989 fielding percentage as a utility player.

Lech will enter second season at Auburn joined by [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag], who also announced her return to the program recently.

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Auburn softball shuts out No. 17 Alabama to claim series

The Tigers gained much-needed momentum heading into the SEC Tournament by taking down rival Alabama on Saturday.

Defense and solid pitching headlined the first two games of Auburn softball’s series with No. 17 Alabama as both teams combined to score just nine runs over 18 innings.

Saturday’s deciding game three played out the same way, but like Thursday’s series opener, luck bounced the way of the Tigers. An early advantage mixed in with a stellar outing by [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] in the circle led Auburn to a 3-0 win over their rivals, claiming the series.

A pair of singles put Auburn on the board in the 2nd inning. [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] kicked off Auburn’s scoring effort with a single to score Thalia Martin while [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] singled home [autotag]Axe Milanowski[/autotag] a few at-bats later.

The decisive blow was delivered by [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] in the 4th inning when she crushed her second home run of the series and her 12th home run of the season to left field to extend Auburn’s lead to 3-0, thus capping Auburn’s scoring effort.

[autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] got another solid effort from his pitchers on Saturday as Annabelle Widra struck out seven batters while allowing four hits in a complete-game showing. Getting ahead in the inning ultimately led to Widra’s strong showing.

“(Widra) did a tremendous job,” Dean said postgame. “(Emily) Carosone showed her some numbers. She got every batter in the beginning of an inning out, and she didn’t walk a single batter. Annabelle can be extremely successful when she does that.”

Auburn softball ends the regular season at 27-18-1, 9-15 in SEC play. The Tigers will now await its SEC Tournament fate. The SEC Tournament kicks off Tuesday at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn.

Recap: Auburn softball goes extras with Alabama, drops game two

After a long fought out battle that gave fans some free softball, Auburn drops game two to Alabama to set up a rubber match on Saturday.

After an exhilarating game one in which the emotions were high and alive, Auburn softball looked to take the series from its rivals in the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday in game two of this three-game set.

The emotions were still present in the game, but in a different way, as the two teams battled in a scoreless tie deep into extra innings, only for Alabama to eventually pull away with a 2-0 win in 11 innings.

The Tigers had a chance to do damage late in this game. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Auburn got the bases loaded with two outs after [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] was intentionally walked with runners on second and third.

Unfortunately, the threat ended when [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] struck out swinging on three pitches, leaving the game scoreless.

The Crimson Tide then had a chance in the top of the 7th with runners on second and third and two outs. Bailey Dowling went down swinging as well, though, and the game continued on.

The extra frames went fairly quickly, with nothing much happening as far as scoring threats go.

That was until the Alabama top of the 11th inning. Larissa Preuitt legged out a single to begin the inning, setting up Dowling to later to single through the left side and put two runners on. Both of them would advance to second and third immediately after on a wild pitch.

After a fly out put two outs on the board, Kenleigh Cahalan came up big with a single through the right side that brought both runners home, putting the Crimson Tide up 2-0.

The Tigers went down in order in the bottom half of the inning, securing a late win for their rivals.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] picked up the loss in game two, dropping to 14-10 on the year. She pitched 4.2 innings in relief, giving up two runs on seven hits, while striking out and walking four batters each.

Kayla Beaver earned the win for Alabama, going 5.1 innings in relief. She never surrendered a run, but gave up two hits and struck out seven.

The game three rubber match in this rivalry series is set for 11 a.m. CST on Saturday, and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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Recap: Auburn softball drops series finale to Ole Miss

Auburn could not keep up with the Rebels in Sunday’s finale, thus dropping another SEC series.

After beginning the series on a hot note, Auburn dropped the final two games of its road series with Ole Miss, including Sunday’s finale.

Auburn held a 2-1 lead over the Rebels in the 3rd inning, but Ole Miss rattled off six unanswered runs to claim the 7-2 win over the Tigers on Sunday at Ole Miss Softball Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.

Ole Miss jumped 1-0 in the 1st inning on a groundout by Aynslie Furbush that allowed Jalia Lassiter to score from 3rd base. Auburn answered with an RBI single by [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] and a solo home run by [autotag]KK McCray[/autotag] to give the Tigers the 2-1 advantage.

The solo home run would cap scoring for Auburn as Ole Miss would jump back in front thanks to three straight home runs. Furbush and Delaney Rummell would smash two-run home runs while Jamie Mackay added a solo round-tripper. Taylor Malvin scored the game’s final run in the 6th inning on an error.

“We didn’t play well,” Auburn head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] said postgame. “There’s no other way to describe it. We didn’t hit well. We didn’t pitch well. Our defense was susceptible. We’re going to have two really good days of practice ahead us to get ready for that last series of the regular season.”

Auburn recorded six hits in Sunday’s loss, with [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] carrying the load with two. The combination of [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] and [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] combined to allow six earned runs on nine hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

Auburn will now prepare for its final regular season series of the season. Auburn will host No. 17 Alabama for a three-game set beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.

Recap: Auburn softball’s comeback falls short in game two with Ole Miss

After a game one win on Friday, Auburn softball’s comeback falls short, evening the series with Ole Miss in game two

Auburn softball looked to continue momentum on Saturday evening, trying to win the series over Ole Miss. The Tigers won a pitcher’s duel on Friday in extra innings and wanted to rebound after a long night.

That attempt was not successful, though, as the Rebels evened the series with a 4-2 victory, despite the late surge by Auburn.

The Tigers got things going early on in the game, scoring in the top of the 1st. After [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] and [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] both singled in their plate appearances, [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored McCrary with one out, making it a 1-0 ball game.

Nothing else happened until the 3rd inning came around. With a runner on third base and two outs, Jalia Lassiter reached and advanced to second after a throwing error, scoring the first Ole Miss run.

Jaden Pone followed that up with a single into center, scoring Lassiter and giving the Rebels a 2-1 lead.

Ole Miss continued momentum in the 4th. After a strikeout led off the inning, Aynslie Furbush launched a home run over the center field wall to stretch the lead to two runs.

Delaney Rummell and Angelina DeLeon reached the corner bases immediately following this, which set up Jamie Mackay to hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Rummell and making it 4-1.

Auburn did not give up fight despite a quiet next couple of innings. The 7th showed a large fight put up by the Tigers.

[autotag]Chalea Clemmons[/autotag] singled to left field to lead things off. [autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] came in to run for Clemmons, and advanced to second on a passed ball.

[autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] then drew a four-pitch walk, followed by a walk from McCrary later in the inning to load the bases with just one out.

[autotag]Rose Roach[/autotag] fouled out deep enough to left field to score Penta, making it 4-2 with two gone. Peralta then ground out right after the RBI, ending the game and the chance to win the series in game two for the Tigers.

[autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] picked up the loss, dropping to 4-3 on the season. She pitched four full innings for the night, giving up four runs on three hits, while striking out three.

Brianna Lopez earned the win for the Rebels. She pitched five innings in the game, giving up one run on three hits. She also struck out eight and walked three.

The series will come down to game three in Oxford on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon CST, and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Recap: Auburn splits pair of games to finish War Eagle Classic

After winning its first two games of the weekend on Friday, Auburn softball wrapped the weekend by splitting a pair of games in the War Eagle Classic.

An off weekend in SEC play gave the chance for Auburn softball to create some momentum for itself for the rest of the season. The Tigers went into Saturday with their eyes set on doing just that after winning their first two games on Friday.

For the most part, [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] and his squad were able to keep playing well, splitting two games against Louisiana Tech and Georgia Tech.

Auburn got the scoring started off early in its 5-0 game one victory over Louisiana Tech. After an out and two singles led off the bottom of the 1st, [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] singled into right center to score [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag], putting her team up 1-0.

Icess Tresvik hit a single later on in the inning to score another run for the Tigers. She would then go and steal second, third and home to score the games third run, giving Auburn a 3-0 advantage.

A defensive next few innings saw neither team score until the bottom of the 5th. This time, Tresvik came through big again and hit a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing in [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag].

[autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] followed that contact up with a hit of her own, singling into center field and scoring [autotag]Thalia Martin[/autotag] to make it a 5-0 game. This ultimately secured the win for the Tigers.

Game two featured an offensive battle between Auburn and Georgia Tech, one in which the the Tigers ultimately lost 10-9.

The scoring got started early in this one as well. With two runners on and two outs in he top of the 1st, Madison Dobbins singled into center field to bring in the game’s first run. Jayden Gailey came up immediately after to hit a double, scoring two more to make it a 3-0 Yellow Jacket lead.

That scoring continued for Georgia Tech in the top of the 2nd when Sara Beth Allen and Mallorie Black hit back-to-back solo home runs, making it 5-0 early on.

The Tigers answered back in the bottom half of the inning when Tresvik continued her big day with a two-RBI home run to center field, getting Auburn on the board.

Packer kept that positive energy going in the bottom of the 3rd with a single of her own up the middle, scoring a run and cutting the deficit to two at 5-3.

The Yellow Jackets would not go away though. Allen came up again in the top of the 4th and hit another a two-run deep shot to center field, making it 7-3.

Tiffany Domingue continued the action in the inning with a single to right field that brought in the eighth run for Georgia Tech.

With one runner on in the bottom of the 4th, Skylar Elkins put the Tigers back in it with a single that scored Tresvik.

That energy continued into the bottom of the 5th when [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] hit a solo home run to right center field. That gave way for Packer to hit a double later on in the inning to score another Auburn run, making it 8-6.

The Yellow Jackets made sure that would worry them, though. With one runner on the top of the 6th, Allen came up clutch again, hitting her third home run of the game. It scored two runs to make it 10-6.

The Tigers would not go down without a fight in this game. Wohlers hit an RBI double in the bottom of the 6th to make it 10-7.

Then, in the 7th, [autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] singled into right center field with the bases loaded, plating a run to make a two-run game. Elkins came up immediately after and grounded out, but scored another run to make it 10-9.

Unfortunately, Auburn could not push across another run, losing a heartbreaker to finish the weekend.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] got the complete game win in game one, striking out 15 batters while only giving up two hits and walking one. She improved to 11-6 on the year.

[autotag]Annabella Widra[/autotag] was given the loss against Georgia Tech to drop to 4-2. She pitched 2.0 innings, giving up five runs on six hits and striking out two.

The Tigers will now prepare to take on the UAB Blazers on Wednesday, April 10. First pitch in that game is set for 6 p.m. CST at Jane B. Moore Field.

 

Pitch Perfect: Auburn tops Samford behind dominant effort in the circle

Three Auburn pitchers combine to reach perfection in Wednesday’s run-rule victory over Samford.

For the fourth time in program history, Auburn softball reached perfection in Wednesday’s win over Samford.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag], [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag], and [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] combined to strikeout 10 Samford batters while not allowing a baserunner in Wednesday’s 8-0 win over the Bulldogs at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn.

Penta grabbed the start in Wednesday’s win and continued her dominating season by striking out five of the nine batters she faced over three innings of work. Lowe put in an inning of relief work, where she struck out two batters. Widra slammed the door by recording three straight strikeouts to secure the victory.

“They hit their spots really nice tonight,” Dean said postgame. “In five innings, we threw like 65 pitches. That’s just really effective work. Our defense did well. We scored all eight runs with two outs. That’s always a good sign.”

Not only did Auburn record all eight runs with two outs, but all runs came on multi-base hits. [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] smashed her 9th home run of the season in the 1st inning to put Auburn ahead early, 3-0. [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] followed suit in the 2nd inning by crushing a two-run shot of her own to extend the Tigers’ lead to 5-0.

Later in the inning, [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] drove home [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] with an RBI double. The final blow came in the 3rd inning when Packer scored two runs on a multi-RBI triple.

Auburn recorded seven hits in the contest, with [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] and McCrary making two hits from the top of the lineup.

Auburn steps away from SEC play this weekend to host Georgia Tech and Louisiana Tech for the War Eagle Classic. The weekend begins Friday at 2 p.m. CT when the Tigers face Louisiana Tech.

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Recap: Auburn softball drops low-scoring game two to Texas A&M

In a very low-scoring contest on the diamond, Auburn softball drops game two to Texas A&M on Saturday and dropping another SEC series.

Auburn softball has not had much luck finding success in its SEC schedule. After a loss in game one of their current series at Texas A&M on Friday, the Tigers attempted to bounce back in what was a defensive battle on Saturday.

Unfortunately for Auburn (15-8-1), this game did also not land in its favor, as the Aggies (27-4) pulled out a 3-2 victory.

The Tigers started the scoring early in this game. After two quick outs on four pitches to begin the top of the 1st, [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] sent a pitch deep to center field and over the wall, giving her team an early 1-0 lead.

After a slow 2nd inning and beginning of the 3rd, Texas A&M answered back in the bottom half. After a double and a fly out, Koko Wooley reached on a fielder’s choice which scored Kramer Eschete. Suddenly, the game was tied at 1-1.

Wooley came through for the Aggies again in the bottom of the 5th inning. After Eschete singled up the middle and a strikeout immediately following, Wooley singled through the left side of the field, scoring Eschete and giving Texas A&M the lead.

The Aggies extended their lead in the 6th when Allie Enright sent a home run over the right field wall in an attempt to put the game away. She gave her team a 3-1 lead over Auburn.

The Tigers a stab at the deficit with two outs in the 7th as [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] hit a solo home run to left center, but that would be it as Auburn’s comeback bid ended right after that.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] picked up the complete game loss, falling to 8-5 on the season. She gave up three runs on five hits, striking out seven and walking one in the process.

Shaylee Ackerman earned the complete game win for Texas A&M, giving up two runs on three hits, while only striking out two Tigers and walking two as well.

Auburn will attempt to end the series in College Station with a win on Sunday in game three. First pitch in that game is set for 1 p.m. CST.

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Auburn blanks Missouri to take final game of series

Amelia Lech smashed two home runs while Maddie Penta struck out seven batters in Auburn’s 4-0 win over Missouri on Sunday.

SEC play did not begin as No. 25 Auburn had hoped, but they managed to salvage a win in its weekend slate at Missouri on Sunday.

[autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] smashed two home runs while [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] struck out seven batters in a complete game effort in Auburn’s 4-0 win over Missouri on Sunday at Mizzou Softball Stadium in Columbia, Missouri.

Auburn (13-4-1) only recorded one hit through the first two innings before breaking matters open in the 3rd frame. [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] began the inning with a bunt single and moved into scoring position one at-bat later, setting up [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] for a scoring opportunity. Packer delivered by securing a triple to left field to score Smith and putting Auburn ahead, 1-0.

Auburn’s final three runs came off the bat of Lech, who hit a solo shot in the 4th inning and delivered the final blow by hitting a two-run blast in the 6th inning.

Lech was joined by Smith and [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] by recording multiple hits in the game while Packer, KK McCrary, Icess Tresvik, and Rose Roach contributed to Auburn’s 10 total hits.

In the circle, Penta avenged Friday’s loss by allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters in seven full innings. Overall, head coach Mickey Dean was pleased with his team’s ability to bounce back from two tough losses.

“We did a nice job of making adjustments at the plate,” Dean said postgame. “Our defense played sharp. (Penta) hit her spots. We had a game plan that everyone was able to stick with. It ended up being a great day.”

The Tigers return to Jane B. Moore Field next weekend to face Bri Ellis and the Arkansas Razorbacks for a three-game SEC set. First pitch for the series opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT on Friday.

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