Denver Bryant – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Auburn softball enters Clemson Regional with ‘extra motivation’

After missing a chance to host a regional this season, the Auburn Tigers are driven to make a statement in Clemson.

When it came to picking a regional host, the No. 16 Auburn Tigers had a resume worthy of such honor. However, the NCAA Tournament selection committee failed to share those sentiments, thus moving Auburn into the traveling category.

Auburn will compete in the Clemson Regional, hosted by the No. 16 overall seed, Clemson. Should Auburn come out of the weekend on top, their next destination would be Norman, Oklahoma to face the postseason’s top overall seed.

D1Softball’s Rhiannon Potkey understands Auburn’s frustrations and feels that the orange and blue Tigers will have extra drive heading into the weekend.

The Tigers certainly have enough reasons to be miffed by their placing in the bracket. Not only did the committee not give Auburn a national seed, they sent the Tigers back to Clemson for the second straight season. Auburn beat Alabama and LSU head-to-head in SEC play, and both squads received national seeds over the Tigers. If they needed extra motivation, they got it.

This bracket will not be a breeze for any team, as the Clemson Regional features three of the game’s top pitchers in Auburn’s Maddie Penta, Clemson’s Valerie Cagle, and Cal State Fullerton’s Myka Sutherlin. Auburn’s performance against regional hosts such as Alabama and LSU should boost Auburn’s chances of winning the regional, as Potkey has predicted that Auburn will upset Clemson for the weekend victory.

Potkey likes Auburn’s chances should they get past Cal State Fullerton on Friday.

The Tigers have plenty of pop in the lineup, led by [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag], and [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag] among others. Auburn is 1-2 all-time in games against Cal State Fullerton. The two teams last met in Fullerton in 2015 with the Titans beating Auburn 3-2. That is where Auburn will start. They are just hoping for a better finish than the last trip to Clemson.

Auburn’s run to the Women’s College World Series begins Friday at 4:30 when the Tigers face Cal State Fullerton at McWhorter Stadium.

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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Maddie Penta earns SEC Pitcher of the Year honor

Penta wins the award after winning 20 games and striking out more than 250 batters in two straight seasons.

For the first time in program history, an Auburn Tiger has been named SEC Pitcher of the Year.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag], a junior from Chesapeake City, Maryland, won the award after putting together an impressive season that ranks among the best in SEC history as well as program history.

Penta finished the year with a 1.12 ERA, a 25-5 record, 16 complete games, and 283 strikeouts to 45 walks. She appeared in 38 games this season and started 32 of them, picking up three saves along the way. The ace right-hander logged 200.1 innings of work this season.

Additionally, Penta was named All-SEC First Team for the second year in a row, the first Tiger to do that since [autotag]Kasey Cooper[/autotag] in 2015-2016. Penta also earned Auburn’s first SEC All-Defensive Team selection since [autotag]Casey McCrackin[/autotag] in 2019.

The Tigers were carried by Penta in conference play, as Penta led them to their highest finish in league play since 2017. She is the first Tiger to record back-to-back seasons with more than 20 wins and more than 250 strikeouts since [autotag]Anna Thompson[/autotag] in 2009-2010.

Penta’s record-setting season also included having the lowest ERA in an SEC season and leading all pitchers with more than 65 innings pitched with a 1.02. Her six shutouts in SEC play tied [autotag]Kristen Keyes[/autotag]’ 2004 season for most in program history.

[autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag] and [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] also earned All-SEC honors, being named to the league’s second team.

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 Daniel on Twitter @DanielJLocke

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Auburn softball drops second game of series to Mississippi State

Auburn goes for the series win on Sunday.

After picking up a win in the first game of the series, the Auburn Tigers (38-16, 14-9 SEC) fell 5-4 in nine innings to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (28-23, 7-15 SEC) in the second game of the series at Jane B. Moore Field yesterday afternoon.

“We fought,” said Auburn head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag]. “We have to put ourselves in better defensive positions and clean things up on defense on Sunday. It’s little things, but defense is who we are. We need to return to that.”

Junior left-hander [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] got the start for Auburn and allowed four runs off of seven hits, walked one batter and struck out four in five innings of work. Sophomore right-hander [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] pitched the remaining four innings and allowed one run off of three hits and struck two batters out.

Senior right-hander Aspen Wesley got the start for Mississippi State and allowed two runs off of two hits, walked three batters and struck out two in two innings of work. Freshman right-hander Josey Marron went the rest of the way for the Bulldogs and allowed two runs off of three hits, walked three batters and struck out seven in seven innings on the mound.

Mississippi State got the scoring started in the top of the second inning when graduate catcher Jackie McKenna singled to right field to bring in a run.

Auburn took the lead in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore shortstop [autotag]Rose Roach[/autotag] singled to center field to bring in two runs.

The Bulldogs jumped back in front in the top of the fourth inning when shortstop Madisyn Kennedy hit a two-run homer to left center.

Auburn tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning when Roach hit a sac-fly to center field to score junior third baseman [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag]. The Tigers took the lead back in the bottom of the fifth inning when sophomore left fielder [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] scored on an error while base running.

Mississippi State struck back in the top of the sixth inning when McKenna reached on an infield single to drive in the tying run. In the top of the ninth inning, graduate left fielder Chloe Malau’ulu singled up the middle to bring in the go-ahead run. The Tigers were not able to answer back in the bottom of the inning and the Bulldogs picked up the 5-4 victory and evened up the series.

The rubber match is set for Sunday at 11:00 a.m. CDT. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

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 Daniel on Twitter @DanielJLocke

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Penta returns favor in Auburn’s series-clinching win over South Carolina

Auburn’s Maddie Penta shut out South Carolina on Sunday with a no-hit effort.

In game two of the series between No. 17 Auburn and South Carolina on Saturday, the Gamecocks dominated the Tigers in an 8-0 run-rule victory behind Donnie Gobourne’s no-hit bid.

On Sunday, Auburn and [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] returned the favor.

Penta copied Gobourne by not allowing a hit on Sunday and allowed just two base runners in Auburn’s 10-0 run-rule victory over South Carolina, doing so on just 77 pitches.

The Tigers did diminutive damage through the first four innings, as they posted just two runs. [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] put Auburn on the board in the 1st inning on a fielder’s choice that allowed Nelia Peralta to score to give the Tigers the 1-0 lead. [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] claimed the other run on a solo home run to left field.

The Gamecocks kept the Tiger bats quiet over the next two innings as they held Auburn hitless. However, the floodgates opened in the 5th inning, which put the run rule into effect.

Auburn scored eight runs on six hits in the 5th inning, with Tresvik, [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag], [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag], and [autotag]Aspen Godwin[/autotag] doing the damage.

Tresvik scored the first, and last, runs of the inning, scoring McCrary both times. Bryant extended Auburn’s lead to 4-0 on a single to right field. McCrary and Godwin would combine to score five runs on just two swings of the bat. Godwin plated two on a double to left field, while McCrary cleared the bases on a double two at-bats later to extend the lead to 9-0.

Tresvik scored McCrary for the second time in the inning on a two-out single to cap the scoring at 10-0.

Tesvik led the team in hitting by collecting three in Sunday’s win. She and McCrary also plated three runs. Penta struck out nine batters in 5.0 innings of hitless work, walking just two batters.

The win was also head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag]’s 200th win as Auburn’s head coach, a position that he has held since the 2018 season.

Auburn returns to Jane B. Moore Field next weekend to face Mississippi State in the final SEC series of the season. The Bulldogs recently swept No. 20 Kentucky over the weekend.

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Tigers takes down Tide in game three to win series

Auburn earns their first series win in Tuscaloosa since 2017.

The No. 19 Auburn Tigers (35-14, 11-7 SEC) picked up a 3-1 victory over the No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide (34-15, 10-8 SEC) to clinch the series victory at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa this afternoon.

“I’ve been telling people all year that if you don’t come watch this team play, you are missing it,” head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] said Sunday. “That was one hell of a matchup between (Maddie) Penta and (Montana) Fouts. That was fun to watch. Maddie kept her composure. They threatened. We made mistakes, but she kept her composure.”

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] pitched the whole game for Auburn and allowed one run off of six hits, walked one batter, and struck out eight in seven innings of work.

Montana Fouts pitched the whole game for Alabama and allowed three runs off of seven hits, walked one batter, and struck out 11 in seven innings of work.

The Tigers got the scoring started in the top of the third inning when senior [autotag]Carlee McCondichie[/autotag] hit a solo home run down the right-field line.

The Crimson Tide evened it up in the bottom of the fourth inning when senior Jenna Johnson scored on a groundout to short by junior Bailey Dowling.

Auburn took control and never gave it back in the top of the sixth inning when sophomore [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] singled to right field to drive in sophomore [autotag]Kenadie Cooper[/autotag] and junior [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag] doubled to left center to score freshman Skylar Elkins. That was all of the scoring in the 3-1 Tigers victory.

Auburn will be back in action next weekend when the Tigers travel up to Columbia, South Carolina for a three-game set with the South Carolina Gamecocks (32-15, 7-11 SEC). First pitch will be set for 5:00 p.m. CDT on Friday, 1:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday and 12:00 p.m. CDT on Sunday.

Auburn splits Saturday doubleheader at Alabama behind Bryant’s big day

Denver Bryant hit two home runs and was responsible for scoring four of Auburn’s six total runs on Saturday.

Thunderstorms on Friday moved No. 19 Auburn‘s series opener at No. 14 Alabama to Saturday, setting up a twin bill at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Both teams were able to earn a win on Saturday behind stellar pitching.

Alabama (34-14, 10-7 SEC) used a three-run 5th inning in game one to build a comfortable lead, which led the way for a 6-1 series-opening win. In game two, Auburn (34-14, 10-7 SEC) jumped out to a 3-0 1st inning lead and cruised to a 5-1 win to even the series.

The one constant for Auburn in both games, however, was the bat of [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag].

In two games, Bryant went 2-5 with two homers and four RBI. Her second home run of the day was a three-run blast in the 1st inning of game two to put Auburn on the board, 3-0. Her solo home run in game one would be the lone run that the Tigers would score in the series opener.

GAME ONE: ALABAMA 6 AUBURN 1

[autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] and [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] pitched for Auburn in game one. The pair combined to strike out four batters while allowing nine hits and five earned runs.

Alabama’s Ally Shipman was responsible for scoring Alabama’s first two runs of game one on a double and solo home run in the 1st and 4th innings respectively. Their big inning came in the 5th when Shipman, Ashley Prange, and Bailey Dowling each plated a run in the frame. A groundout by Larissa Preuitt in the 7th would score Alabama’s final run of the game.

Auburn would only record three total hits in the game, with [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] grabbing two of them. Alabama’s Montana Fouts went the distance in the circle, striking out seven batters and allowing three hits, two walks, and an earned run.

GAME TWO: AUBURN 5 ALABAMA 1

Auburn quickly gained momentum in game two on Bryant’s three-run home run with two outs in the 1st inning. The Crimson Tide would chip into the lead in the bottom half when Kenleigh Callahan’s single scored Jenna Johnson from third base to cut the lead to 3-1.

Luckily, Auburn would be able to build insurance while not having to worry about Alabama scoring anymore. Auburn’s final runs were courtesy of Peralta and [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag]. Peralta hit a sacrifice fly in the 2nd inning to score Makayla Packer, and Ellis cranked her 12th home run of the season over the right field wall in the 6th to solidify Auburn’s victory.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] turned in another great outing in the circle for Auburn, as she allowed just three hits and an earned run while walking one and striking out seven in 7.0 innings of work.

“Penta performed really well today,” Dean said of Penta’s performance on Saturday. “She was nervous that first inning. There are a lot of people here. It was a big day for Alabama softball, being ‘Montana Fouts Day’. She settled down. She did her thing.”

The Tigers and Tide will battle in a winner-take-all game three on Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. CT. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN, as well as the Auburn Sports Network.

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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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Auburn softball rises two places in USA TODAY/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll

A series sweep of Missouri has Auburn climbing in the NFCA/USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

The Auburn Tigers got back on track last weekend by sweeping Missouri in their SEC home-opening series.

Their strong defensive showing impressed the voters that make up the NFCA/USA TODAY Top 25 Coaches Poll, as they rose two spots from No. 21 to No. 19 in the latest poll.

The home-standing Tigers shut out Missouri to open the series behind a strong effort by [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] in the circle. Penta struck out a career-tying 17 batters while [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] and [autotag]Aubrie Lisenby[/autotag] each crushed two-run home runs in Auburn’s 4-0 win in game one.

On Saturday evening, Auburn clinched the series on a walk-off error in the bottom of the 7th to win, 2-1.

After severe weather altered the weekend schedule, both teams took the day away from the play on Sunday and reconvened for their regularly-scheduled series finale on Monday in front of a national audience. Similar to Saturday’s game two, a 1-1 game forced extra innings, and for the second game in a row, Auburn walked off to win, 2-1. [autotag]Denver Bryant[/autotag] singled home [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] in the bottom of the 8th inning to seal the win.

“Tonight, you saw two good teams battling,” head coach Mickey Dean said following Auburn’s 2-1 win over Missouri on Monday evening. “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.”

Next up for Auburn (25-9, 4-2 SEC) is a midweek clash with in-state rival Samford on Wednesday night before hosting Ole Miss for a three-game series this weekend at Jane B. Moore Field.

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

#	TEAM	W-L	PREV.
1	Oklahoma	30-1	1
2	Oklahoma State	29-2	2
3	UCLA	29-4	3
4	Tennessee	26-2	4
5	Clemson	32-1	5
6	Stanford	27-3	7
7	Florida State	26-7	6
8	Washington	25-6	9
9	Texas	30-5-1	10
10	Arkansas	24-9	12
11	Florida	24-7	8
12	Virginia Tech	25-6	11
13	Duke	25-6	14
14	LSU	26-6	15
15	Georgia	27-6	17
16	Kentucky	20-7-1	13
17	Alabama	24-10	16
18	Oregon	20-10	19
19	Auburn	24-9	21
20	Arizona	20-12	18
21	Baylor	23-8	20
22	Northwestern	17-8	24
23	Wichita State	26-7	22
24	Utah	21-5	23
25	Texas A&M	19-11	NR

DROPPED OUT: No. 25 Louisiana

RECEIVING VOTES: Louisiana (22), California (20), Arizona State (6), Boston University (5), Louisville (2).

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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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