Aspyn Godwin – Syndication Server

Softball year in review: Aspyn Godwin

The first subject of our “year in review” series is Aspyn Godwin, who recorded several career-best stats during her final season on the Plains.

The Auburn Tigers’ wonderful season came to a close during the Clemson Regional last weekend, as Auburn fell to the hosts, 5-1 in game seven of an exciting regional.

The season ended with a 43-19 record, which is the most wins for an Auburn team since Mickey Dean took over the program prior to the 2018 season. The Tigers also finished as the No. 3 team in the SEC, trailing just Tennessee and Georgia.

As the season ends, it is now time to reflect on the year that was. First up, we honor super senior, [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag]. Godwin just completed her fifth, and final, season at Auburn, and went out on a high note by matching several career highs, and even topping several more.

To the delight of many Auburn softball fans, Godwin announced last Summer that she would return to Auburn to compete in her final eligible season. The decision turned out to be a great one, as she appeared in 47 games, making 30 starts behind the plate in a platoon role with [autotag]Aubrey Lisenby[/autotag].

Here’s a look back at the season that was for graduate senior, Aspyn Godwin.

Lindsey Garcia to enter the transfer portal

A valuable piece to Auburn’s lineup will enter the transfer portal as a graduate student.

A valuable piece to Auburn softball’s lineup is reportedly entering the transfer portal as a graduate student.

[autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag], who has started in 157 games over the last four seasons for Auburn, will enter the transfer portal for her fifth season of eligibility. Justin McLeod of Extra Innings Softball first reported the news, and D1Softball has officially added her name to their Transfer Portal tracker.

Garcia entered the transfer portal prior to Auburn’s stay at the Clemson Regional but played in all five of Auburn’s games. She recorded five hits and three RBI over the weekend.

Garcia has been a productive member of Auburn’s lineup over the last four seasons, but her best season came in 2023 as a senior. The Coral Springs, Florida product started in all 59 games for the Tigers this season, which marks the second straight season in which she has started every game for Auburn. She hit .277 for Auburn in 2023, and recorded career-bests in doubles (23), home runs (10), and RBI (43).

She ends her Auburn career with an average of .269 with 21 home runs and 94 RBI. As an outfielder, Garcia recorded 115 putouts in her four-year career and fielded at a .939 clip.

Garcia is the first-known player to enter the portal from the 2023 roster. Auburn had a total of four seniors on their roster this season, including [autotag]Carlee McCondichie[/autotag], [autotag]Maia Englekes[/autotag], and [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag].

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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Auburn softball slugs four homers to take game one over Ole Miss

The Tigers have now won five straight.

No. 19 Auburn smashed four home runs to beat Ole Miss 8-2 Friday at Jane B. Moore Field. The win was Auburn’s fifth straight and the Tigers are now 27-9 overall and 5-2 in SEC play.

[autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] got the scoring started in the second inning when she hit a solo home run, her ninth homer of the season. [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag] followed that up with a two-run homer later in the inning to make it a 3-0 game.

“It felt great,’ Ellis said. “I’ve been struggling lately, in my head too much. I found a good pitch to hit tonight, and it worked out.”

The Rebels got a run back in the third inning with a home run of their own but Auburn immediately responded. [autotag]Aubrie Lisenby[/autotag] and [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag] both hit two-run shots of their own to make it 7-1 and blow the game open.

“We have to be hitting up and down the order like we did tonight if we want to continue to have success,” said head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag]. “We had production at the top. We had it at the middle. We had it at the bottom. That’s what you like to see. Everyone is doing their job. We want to keep it there.”

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag](15-4) was once again dominant for Auburn in the circle. Auburn’s ace struck out nine batters in the complete-game performance as she allowed just two hits and one earned run.

The Tiger’s four home runs are tied for the most they have hit in a game all season and their eight runs are the most they have scored against a conference opponent so far.

“We’re just focused on putting together a lot of quality at-bats,” Lisenby said. “It was great to see that I had one leave the yard. Everyone was seeing it well, so it was really easy to cheer on my teammates tonight.”

The Tigers will return to action Saturday for game two at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on the SEC Network.

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.

Garcia leads Auburn to run-rule win over Samford

The Tigers have now won four straight games.

Thanks to a five RBI performance from [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag], the No. 19 Auburn Tigers cruised to a 10-0 victory over the Samford Bulldogs, Wednesday night in Birmingham.

Garcia crushed a home run and a double to lead the Tigers to their run-rule win over the Bulldogs. The five RBI ties a career-high and gives her a team-leading 31 on the season.

“I’m just always looking for a pitch I can hit down in the zone,” Garcia said. “I’m just trying to stay relaxed and confident in the box. I just want to help the team any way that I can in any spot in the lineup.”

The game was tight for the first three innings before Auburn (26-9, 4-2 SEC) took a commanding 6-0 lead in the fourth and added four more runs in the fifth to put the game away.

[autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] reached on a fielding error to start the fourth before [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag] blasted a two-run homer to left. The Tigers added two more runs before the Bulldogs were able to end the inning.

Ellis once again got on base to start the fifth inning, this time by walking. Three of the next four batters walked to drive in a run before Garcia cleared the bases with a double to make it 10-0 Auburn.

The Tigers had just five hits but four went for extra bases and they walked eight times.

“Samford has a solid pitching staff,” said head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag]. “They aren’t going to blow it by you, but they are going to let you get yourself out. I thought our hitters showed a lot of maturity tonight going into deep count and having long at bats.”

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] (14-4) got the start for Auburn and pitched 4.0 no-hit innings, striking out eight Bulldogs and walking two. [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] came in to pitch the fifth and closed out the game. It is Auburn’s 15th shutout of the season.

Auburn took advantage of a miscue by Samford to open the scoring in the first inning. Leadoff hitter [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] walked to start the game and came around to score when Samford made a throwing error on a ground ball by [autotag]Carlee McCondichie[/autotag] that should have been the third out of the inning.

The Tigers added on in the third inning when Garcia smacked her seventh home run of the season to center field to make it a 2-0 Auburn lead.

The Tigers will return to SEC play Friday when they host the Ole Miss Rebels for a three-game series at Jane B. Moore Field. The games on Friday and Sunday will be streamed on SEC Netowork+ while Saturday’s will be on the SEC Network.

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15.

Scouting Auburn Softball’s Tiger Invitational opponents

Auburn Softball opens the home schedule this weekend by welcoming Villanova, Austin Peay, and Dayton to Jane B. Moore Field for the Tiger Invitational.

After a successful season-opening weekend in Clearwater, Florida, the No. 21 Auburn Tigers are set to welcome a trio of teams to Jane B. Moore Field for the Tiger Invitational.

Auburn went 4-1 during last weekend’s NFCA Leadoff Classic, with their lone loss being to Pittsburgh on Saturday, 8-7. Despite the one loss, Auburn outscored its opponents, 41-8 in four games, and posted three shutouts.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] was dominant in the circle by striking out 31 batters in 15.0 innings of work over three games, which led her to winning the SEC’s Pitcher of the Week award.

Auburn had a respectable weekend at the plate as well. [autotag]Carlee McCondichie[/autotag] opened the weekend by posting a .533 average, while [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag] and [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] each collected two home runs.

This weekend, Auburn welcomes a competitive group to campus, headlined by defending Big East champion, Villanova. The team to watch outside of Auburn will be Dayton, who won three games last weekend during the Frank Griffin Classic in DeLand, Florida.

The Flyers feature a hurler that struck out 27 batters last weekend, Izzy Kemp. The battle between Kemp and Penta will be an interesting one to watch when the two teams get together on Saturday evening.

Auburn kicks off the weekend on Friday at 3 p.m. CT against Austin Peay. Each game during the Tiger Invitational will be broadcasted live on SEC Network+, as well as locally on 99.9 FM in Auburn.

Here’s a more in-depth look at Auburn Softball’s weekend schedule, as well as their opponents.

Softball Notebook: Tigers find success in Clearwater

The Tigers earned four early season wins in dominating offensive fashion

The No. 21 Auburn Tigers are off to a hot start after posting four shutout wins in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida.

The Tigers began the weekend by defeating St. John’s and Fordham by a combined score of 15-0. In Auburn’s 6-0 win over St. John’s, sophomore [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] began her Auburn career by striking out ten batters in the circle while [autotag]Carlee McCondichie[/autotag] collected three hits.

Pitching was dominant again in Auburn’s 9-0 run-rule victory over Fordham as [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] struck out 11 in her season debut. The Tigers scored all nine of their runs on just four hits with the biggest coming in the 6th inning. Up five runs in the inning, Auburn’s [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag] cranked a grand slam to solidify the win.

The second day of the tournament got off to a slow start, as the Tigers dropped their first game of the season to Pittsburgh, 8-7. The Panthers scored seven runs in the 2nd inning to take an 8-2 lead into the 3rd. Auburn would score five unanswered runs over the next two innings to trim the lead to 8-7, but could not gain the necessary two runs to complete the comeback. [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] tallied two runs in the loss.

The Tigers would bounce back later in the day to knock off Indiana, 9-0. It was business as usual for Auburn as five Tigers recorded multiple hits in the game, led by [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag]’s three. Widra showed her two-way skills by belting a two-run homer in the 4th inning. Penta again was consistent in the circle as she fanned 11 batters for the second outing in a row.

Auburn put a cap on the weekend by defeating Illinois in run-rule fashion, 10-0. Godwin and Widra each hit their second home runs of the weekend in the game, while Penta struck out nine batters and allowed two hits in 4.0 innings of work.

Here’s a full rundown of how this weekend’s action played out for Auburn Softball:

Auburn Softball projected to finish 8th in SEC

D1Softball predicts Auburn to make another run to the NCAA Tournament in 2023.

The 2022 Auburn Tigers returned to a familiar level of play last season by winning 40 games and making a run toward an NCAA Tournament berth.

The excitement continues to build for [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag]’s squad as many of last season’s pieces return in 2023. D1Softball believes that Auburn will build on last season’s success, and make another trip to the postseason.

In what is expected to be a challenging conference slate, D1Softball.com has Auburn projected to finish the season as the No. 8 team in the SEC.

While Auburn is projected to finish in the bottom half of the SEC, the strength of the conference needs to be considered. Despite a No. 8 prediction, Auburn enters the D1Softball preseason poll at No. 19, with seven SEC teams ranked above them.

D1Softball.com’s Projected SEC Standings

Florida
Arkansas
Alabama
Georgia
Tennessee
LSU
Kentucky
Auburn
Ole Miss
Missouri
Mississippi State
Texas A&M
South Carolina

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] and [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] return to anchor the pitching staff, while [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag], [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag], and a plethora of others return to provide offensive power.

The Tigers open the season on Friday, Feb. 10 in Clearwater, Fla. as part of the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Auburn will face St. John’s and Fordham on opening day.

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Auburn Softball to open season in D1Softball’s preseason top 25

Auburn is in a good place to capitalize on last season’s 40-win campaign.

Auburn Softball enjoyed its best season since 2018 last year by winning 40 games and making an appearance in the Clemson Regional of the NCAA Softball Tournament.

This season, Auburn’s expectations have risen due to the return of several sluggers and solid pitchers. The potential that Auburn brings into the 2023 season has certainly weighed in on the national media, as the Tigers have made the cut in a preseason top 25 ranking.

D1Softball recently released its preseason rankings and has Auburn opening the season as the No. 19 team in the country. Auburn is one of ten SEC programs to earn a place in D1Softball’s initial rankings.

Auburn returns a plethora of hitters to its lineup including [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag], who led the team in home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage in 2022. Notable bats such as [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag], [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], and [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] also return to the roster.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] and [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] return to the pitching circle as juniors this season. Last year the duo combined to strike out 398 batters, 128 of those strikeouts were against SEC competition.

Here is a look at the initial poll from D1Softball.com

1	Oklahoma
2	UCLA
3	Oklahoma State
4	Florida State
5	Florida
6	Alabama
7	Northwestern
8	Arkansas
9	Clemson
10	Georgia
11	Stanford
12	Tennessee
13	Virginia Tech
14	Texas
15	UCF
16	Kentucky
17	LSU
18	Arizona
19	Auburn
20	Louisiana
21	Washington
22	Duke
23	Oregon
24	North Texas
25	Ole Miss

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