Tag: Bri Ellis

Auburn holds on to take game one from LSU

Auburn used a pair of home runs and a strong outing from Maddie Penta to pick up the win.

The No. 21 Auburn Tigers were able to overcome a late rally by No. 13 LSU to take the series opener 5-3 Friday night at Jane B. Moore Field.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] shut out LSU for the first six innings but their bats came alive in the seventh inning as they hit two home runs to cut Auburn’s lead to 5-3. She found her groove after that to retire the next two batters and end the game.

Auburn’s ace improved to 19-5 with her 10th complete game of the season. She allowed three runs on six hits and struck out five batters and did not issue a walk.

Auburn (31-12, 8-5 SEC) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] hit a two-run homer to left.

“I don’t care where I am at in the lineup,” Garcia said. “I’m just trying to score runs, come up big for my team and make things happen. For me, 0-2 means nothing. I approach every pitch like the count is 0-0. I’m locked in and trying find a strike to hit hard.”

[autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] made it a 3-0 game in the fourth when she drove in [autotag]Skylar Elkins[/autotag], who pinch-ran for [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] after she doubled.

The Tigers once again used the long ball to add on in the fifth after [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] led the inning off with a single. [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] belted a two-run homer of her own to make it 5-0 and drive in what would end up being the deciding runs.

“I was battling in my two previous at-bats, so I was focused on doing my job to move the runner on second,” Peralta said. “The pitcher made a mistake, and it worked out for me.”

Auburn will go for the series win Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

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McCrary leads Auburn to win over Troy

KK McCrary had two hits and three RBIs in the win.

Auburn fell into an early 2-0 hole against the Troy Trojans but [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] and Auburn battled back to earn a 7-5 win over the Trojans Wednesday night at Jane B. Moore Field.

The Tigers are now 30-12 on the season and 12-2 at home.

The Trojans hit a two-run home run in the top of the first to strike first but the Tigers responded in the bottom of the inning. McCrary doubled to score [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] and then came around to score on a [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] double that also drove in [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] and gave Auburn a 3-2 lead.

“I thought we hit the ball well, ran the bases well, and I thought we played good defense,” head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] said. “The key is always to answer back, and I thought we were able to do that. When you answer back, it keeps the momentum on your side. We knew they were going to come in here ready. They didn’t play well at their place, and they’re a really good team. We knew they were going to come in here tonight ready to play.”

Troy tied it up in the second inning with a solo home run. After allowing three runs on two homers in the first two innings, Penta settled in and took over. Auburn’s ace allowed three runs over five innings and struck out seven batters.

The Tigers retook the lead in the third inning when Auburn hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] came around to score on an error and [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to give Auburn a 5-3 lead.

Auburn got some more breathing room in the fourth when McCrary hit a two-RBI single to make it 7-3. She finished the game with two hits and three RBIs.

“It felt great to get a win,” McCrary said. “They’re a good team. We’ve been working on hitting in high-pressure situations in practice, so I was really happy that I was able to come through for my team.”

Those runs proved crucial as the Trojans scored one run in the sixth and seventh inning to make it a 7-5 game.

The Tigers will return to SEC play this Friday when they host LSU at Jane B. Moore Field.

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Auburn falls two places in USA TODAY/NFCA Coaches Poll after series loss at Florida

Auburn remains one of nine SEC teams that grace this week’s NFCA/USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

The Auburn Tigers played a solid series with the Florida Gators last weekend in Gainesville, but could only manage to win the final game of the series on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers were able to shut out Florida, 7-0, behind a three-hit day offensively. A few Florida blunders led the Tigers to pull away in the 7th inning, but a three-run blast by [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] in the 1st inning is what gave the Tigers a comfortable lead to begin the game.

The series loss affected the Tigers in a minimal way, as they fall just two spots from No. 19 to No. 21 in this week’s USA TODAY/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.

Auburn’s run of challenging opponents continues this week as the Tigers are set to host LSU, who checks in at No. 13 in this week’s poll after taking two of three from the Missouri Tigers last week at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge. Two of Auburn’s final four SEC opponents of the season are ranked in this week’s poll. In addition to LSU, Alabama checks in at No. 16 this week.

Here’s a look at this week’s USA TODAY/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll

# TEAM W-L PREV.
1 Oklahoma 36-1 1
2 UCLA 36-4 3
3 Oklahoma State 35-3 2
4 Florida State 32-7 6
5 Stanford 31-6 7
6 Clemson 37-4 4
7 Tennessee 30-5 5
8 Texas 33-8-1 9
9 Washington 29-8 10
10 Arkansas 28-11 8
11 Duke 30-9 11
12 Georgia 31-8 14
13 LSU 33-7 12
14 Virginia Tech 31-9 13
15 Florida 28-10 11
16 Alabama 28-12 16
17 Kentucky 24-10-1 17
18 Baylor 30-9 21
19 Oregon 25-11 18
20 Wichita State 34-7 22
21 Auburn 29-12 19
22 Northwestern 24-9 23
23 Texas A&M 24-13 24
24 Arizona 24-15 20
25 Utah 24-8 NR

DROPPED OUT: No. 24 Arizona State

RECEIVING VOTES:  Louisiana (22), Arizona State (8), Boston University (5), California (4), Indiana (4), Boise State (1), Central Arkansas (1).

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Bri Ellis’ 1st inning blast propels Auburn over Florida

The Tigers avoid a sweep in Gainesville thanks to Ellis’ 1st inning homer.

The No. 19 Auburn Tigers played No. 15 Florida close all weekend, but could not muster a win in the series’ first two games.

On Saturday, the Tigers took advantage of several Gator miscues to grab a 7-0 win in game three of the set to salvage a win in the series.

It was not a busy day offensively for Auburn, as the Tigers only recorded three hits, two of which came in the 1st inning and led to Auburn’s first four runs.

Auburn began the game with two base runners as [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] led off the game by taking a walk and [autotag]Aubrey Lisenby[/autotag] reached base on a single. Following a foul out by [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag], [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag] put the Tigers on the board by scoring Peralta on a single to put Auburn up, 1-0.

[autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] followed suit by crushing the second pitch of her at-bat over the left-center field wall to clear the bases and extended Auburn’s lead to 4-0 with one out in the 1st inning.

The scoreboard remained quiet until the final inning when Auburn scored three runs on two Florida errors. After Florida pitcher Lexie Delbrie hit two batters in the inning, the Gator offense committed two back-to-back errors. The first error was by Delbrie on a sacrifice attempt by Abbey Smith that scored Jessie Blaine. The following error was on 2nd baseman Reagan Walsh on a ground ball by Bryant. The fielding blunder allowed Smith and Lisenby to score and extend Auburn’s lead to 7-0.

Only three Tigers recorded hits in the game, but Ellis’ three-run home run in the 1st inning made the most noise. The Gators, like Auburn, did not have a player record multiple hits, but would end the game with four total, and would leave six runners on base.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] had another stellar outing in the circle by striking out 10 batters and walking just two in a complete-game effort.

Auburn will return to Jane B. Moore Field on Wednesday to host in-state foe, Troy, at 6 p.m. CT. The mid-week clash with the Trojans will be a great appetizer for yet another crucial SEC series with LSU next weekend. The Bayou Bengals recently took two of three from Missouri in Baton Rouge.

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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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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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Auburn completes sweep of Missouri with second-straight walk off win

It is Auburn’s first-ever sweep of Missouri.

The Auburn softball team is starting to develop a sense of the dramatic as they once again walked off the Missouri Tigers.

This time it was [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag] who came through by driving in [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] to secure the 2-1 win Monday night at Jane. B. Moore Field.

“All I could do was make sure I got on base for my teammates,” Bryant said. “We can take this momentum and keep going, keep winning. We can take this thing as far as we want to.”

After Auburn (25-9, 4-2 SEC) scored in the first inning their offense went cold until the bottom of the seventh inning with the game tied 1-1.

[autotag]Aubrie Lisenby[/autotag] walked to start the rally and head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] promptly subbed in the speedy [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] to pinch run for her, a decision that would prove crucial two batters later. [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] singled to left field to advance Smith to second, bringing up Bryant with the winning run in scoring position.

Bryant wasted no time ending the game by singling into right field and Smith scampered home to give Auburn its second-straight walk off win over Missouri.

It is Auburn’s first sweep of Missouri in program history.

“Tonight, you saw two good teams battling,” Dean said. “Our kids certainly battled. I challenged them in the last two innings to play with some more confidence. As each player starts to grow their confidence, good things will continue to happen.”

While the offense got it done late, [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] once again shut down the Missouri lineup. Despite walking four Missouri batters, Auburn’s ace allowed just one run on one hit and struck out eight batters in another dominant outing.

The Tiger opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when [autotag]Jessie Blaine[/autotag] sent [autotag]Kenadie Cooper[/autotag] home with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Missouri answered back in the top of the third when Payton Jackson smacked a solo home run to tie the game at 1-1, it was their only hit of the game.

After that, both pitchers settled in and took over the game. Auburn did not have another base runner until Lisenby walked with one out in the seventh inning. Missouri only managed two runners in that same time, both via walk, and neither made it to second base.

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No. 1 Oklahoma hosts Omni Hall of Fame Classic: Preview, Key Players, How to Watch

The Oklahoma Sooners play host in the Omni Hall of Fame Classic in Oklahoma City. Here’s how to watch, matchup previews, and players to watch, this weekend in OKC.

The Oklahoma Sooners will play host to two top 25 teams in the Omni Hall of Fame Classic this weekend in Oklahoma City. The Sooners will play Northwestern and have a pair of games against future SEC foe Auburn.

Oklahoma has won 14 in a row since their loss to the Baylor Bears and are coming off of a big win over Florida State on Tuesday. The Sooners have faced tough competition throughout the season and will do so this weekend in OKC.

Here’s a look at how to watch the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners and a preview of the teams they’ll face in the Hall of Fame Classic.

How To Watch

Oklahoma’s games will be streamed on ESPN+, and other matchups from the weekend can be viewed on USASoftball.com.

Bri Ellis remains a top five first baseman in D1Softball’s power rankings

Ellis continues to get it done in the field and at the plate.

Auburn’s top slugger continues to dominate at the plate.

[autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] is following up a stellar freshman campaign by belting out home runs and posting runs to the scoreboard. Through 26 games, Ellis has belted eight home runs and has plated 28 runs while slugging at a .862 clip. Each of those stats is ranked as the team’s highest among consistent starters.

Ellis continues to catch the eye of those at D1Softball, as the publication lists her among the top five first basemen of college softball in this week’s position power rankings. Ellis joins Arizona State’s Jordyn VanHook, Clemson‘s Valerie Cagle, Oklahoma‘s Jocelyn Erickson, and Utah’s Ellessa Bonstrom as the sport’s top corner players.

Ellis and the No. 19 Auburn Tigers travel to Oklahoma to compete in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic at OGE Energy Field at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Tigers will face Weber State, Northwestern, and Oklahoma as part of this weekend’s competition.

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Louisville Slugger tabs Bri Ellis player of the week

Ellis is being rewarded following a sensational week at the plate.

Auburn sophomore [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag]’ amazing week caught the attention of the SEC’s front office as she was named the conference’s player of the week after batting .714 with seven multi-base hits and four home runs.

Her efforts went beyond the SEC, as she has been named National Player of the Week by Louisville Slugger and the NFCA. Ellis posted amazing numbers in Auburn’s 6-0 week which moved them to a 15-1 record heading into this week’s action.

Leading the the 19th-ranked Tigers to six wins, including a sweep of the Plainsman Invite, Ellis hit .714 (10-for-14) with seven extra-base hits and a 1.786 slugging percentage. The sophomore registered three doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI and seven runs scored. Ellis also drew four walks and posted a .788 slugging percentage. The Houston, Texas native knocked in a season-high four runs against Brown and added three more RBI versus Merrimack.

Ellis becomes the first Auburn hitter to receive the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I player of the week honor, and the first player since Emily Carosone in 2015 to win a national player of the week award. Maddie Penta won the pitcher of the week award last March.

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