Tag: Lindsey Garcia

Auburn tops Ole Miss with comeback, advances to SEC softball tournament semifinals

Auburn erased a four-run Ole Miss lead to advance to the SEC Softball Tournament semi-finals.

The No. 3 seed Auburn Tigers (40-16, 15-9 SEC) earned an 8-7 comeback victory over the No. 11 seed Ole Miss Rebels (30-26, 8-16 SEC) in the quarterfinals round of the SEC Tournament.

“It’s easy to win the pretty games,” said Auburn head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag]. “It’s difficult to win the ugly games. We had to continue to fight back all game long. Being able to answer right back after they scored six runs in the third inning was a huge key to the game. Annabelle (Widra) came into the game and gave up only one earned run. Those two things put our defense and hitters into a position to win that game.”

Junior right-hander [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] got the start for Auburn and allowed an uncharacteristically high five runs off of seven hits, walked four batters and struck four out in 4.1 innings. Sophomore right-hander [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] earned the win for the Tigers in 2.2 innings of relief in which she allowed two runs off of four hits, no walks, and struck two batters out.

[autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning with a single up the middle that drove in two runs.

The Rebels took control in the third inning, scoring six runs.

Auburn battled back but was unable to even the score until [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning to tie the game at seven.

“We worked too hard to let someone beat us easily,” Tresvik said. “We can’t dwell on the little things. We have to flush it and keep fighting. We are all big competitors. We hate losing. We’ve played them before. We knew what to expect. We just had to dig deep mentality and keep fighting.”

[autotag]Rose Roach[/autotag] put the Tigers on top later in the inning with an RBI single through the right side of the infield.

That was all of the scoring in the Tigers’ 8-7 victory over the Rebels which earned them a spot in the next round.

Auburn will take on the No. 10 seed South Carolina Gamecocks (36-19, 9-15 SEC) in the semifinals on Friday at 3:00 p.m. CDT. The broadcast will be available on ESPN2.

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Three party! Auburn softball earns No. 3 seed at SEC Tournament

Auburn earns a first-round bye after taking two-of-three from Mississippi State last weekend.

The No. 17 Auburn Tigers entered the weekend with a good chance to earn a first-round bye as the No. 4 team in the SEC but had the possibility to increase its positioning with a series win over Mississippi State, and for Missouri to upset No. 12 Arkansas.

Auburn got their wish, as they did their part by taking two of three games from the Bulldogs while Missouri won the final two games of the series with Arkansas in Columbia. Because of this, Auburn enters this week’s SEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed.

Auburn’s series win over Mississippi State was its’ four conference series win in a row, which comes at a good time as the postseason begins this week.

“We’re going into the postseason trusting ourselves,” Auburn senior [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] said Sunday after Auburn’s 3-0 win over Mississippi State. “We know what we’re capable of. We know how good we are. We’re staying calm, cool, and collected and playing each game like it’s our first game of a new season.”

The SEC Tournament gets underway on Tuesday from Bogle Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas at 6:30 p.m. CT when No. 13 Missouri faces No. 12 Mississippi State. As for Auburn, the Tigers will begin their run toward an SEC Tournament crown on Thursday at 10 a.m. CT and will face the winner of No. 6 LSU/No. 11 Ole Miss.

Ahead of this week’s SEC Softball Tournament, here’s a look at tournament seeding, plus first-round pairings.

Auburn closes regular season by winning series over Mississippi State

A stellar day by Maddie Penta and two home runs were the difference in Auburn’s 3-0 victory.

The No. 17 Auburn Tigers ended the regular season on a high note on Sunday by shutting out Mississippi State, 3-0, behind another stellar performance by [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag].

The junior began the game by singing her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.  By the end of it, she walked off the field with an eight-strikeout, shutout performance in the circle to lift her team to a victory. She beat her pregame nerves on Sunday in order to establish a win.

“The national anthem definitely got my nerves worked up more than pitching did,” Penta said Sunday. “It was the biggest audience I have ever sung for. I was nervous, but really excited to do something I love for our seniors on their day.”

In a day dominated by pitching and defense, Penta won the battle with Mississippi State starter Reis Beuerlein by allowing just one hit in her complete game effort while walking just three batters. Penta’s lone hit allowed came in the very first at-bat by the Bulldogs when leadoff batter Chloe Malau’ulu hit a single to center field on the second pitch of the game. Penta would walk one more batter in the inning, but all three outs of the initial stanza resulted in strikeouts.

Auburn’s three runs came via the home run, with [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] getting the scoring started with a solo blast to dead center in the 3rd inning. Her unique home run put the Tigers up, 1-0.

“I was trying to get a pitch to drive, and I did,” Peralta said of her home run. “Credit to the centerfielder because she made a nice play on it, but I’m glad it got over.”

Senior [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] would hit a home run in her final game at Jane B. Moore Field. Her two-run blast in the 4th inning would extend Auburn’s lead to 3-0, which would be the final blow for the Tigers.

Now that the regular season has concluded, Auburn’s next stop will be Fayetteville, Arkansas for the SEC Softball Tournament beginning Tuesday. The Tigers get a favorable draw by earning the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will play the winner of No. 6 LSU vs. No. 11 Ole Miss on Thursday at 10 a.m. CT.

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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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.

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 drops second game of series to LSU

The loss sets up a winner-take-all game on Sunday afternoon.

The No. 21 Auburn Tigers (31-13, 8-6 SEC) dropped the second game of the series to the No. 13 LSU Tigers (34-9, 7-7 SEC) 3-2 this afternoon at Jane B. Moore Field.

“In these games, it always comes down to the small stuff,” said head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag]. “The things that you don’t recognize like a leadoff walk or a bobble on relay all in one inning. That’s the difference in the game. We also had some base running miscues, so it is the little things. As long as our kids keep bringing the energy and keep playing hard, we’re going to be fine.”

[autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] got the start for Auburn and allowed two runs off of two hits, walked no batters, and struck out five in four innings of work. [autotag]Annabelle Wildra[/autotag] provided three innings of relief and allowed one run off of three hits, walked one batter, and struck out three.

Sydney Berzon pitched the whole game for LSU and allowed two runs off of three hits, walked four batters, and struck out four in seven innings.

Auburn got the scoring started in the bottom of the third inning when [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] reached on an infield single that scored [autotag]Kenadie Cooper[/autotag].

LSU got on the board in the top of the fourth inning when Georgia Clark hit a two-run homer over the left-field wall. The road Tigers added two more runs to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning when McKenzie Redoutey hit a two-run homer over the left field wall.

Garcia homered to left in the bottom of the sixth inning to bring Auburn within one, but that was all of the scoring.

The rubber match is set for Sunday at 3:00 p.m. CST.

RELATED: How to watch this weekend’s series between Auburn and LSU

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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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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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Penta, Lisenby lift Auburn to series win over Ole Miss

Maddie Penta struck out eight batters while Aubrey Lisenby recorded Auburn’s only hit in the series win over the Rebels on Sunday.

The No. 19 Auburn Tigers scored just one run in Sunday’s finale with Ole Miss, but it was the only score they needed.

An eight-strikeout day by pitcher [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag], as well as an issued walk to [autotag]Aubrey Lisenby[/autotag] that turned into a steal of home by [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] in the 3rd inning, would be enough for the Tigers to take the series, 1-0.

Offense was at a premium in Sunday’s deciding game. After accumulating 14 hits in the first two games of the series, Auburn (28-10, 6-3 SEC) could only muster one hit in the series finale. That lone hit came in the 6th inning when Lisenby lead off the inning with a single up the middle. The scoring threat ended when [autotag]Lindsey Garcia[/autotag] grounded into a double play one at-bat later.

Penta held Ole Miss (21-16, 2-7 SEC) to just two hits in the game. Mikayla Allee recorded the Rebels’ first hit in the top of the 2nd inning, and Tate Whitley reached on an infield single in the 3rd inning. Penta ended with two walks and eight strikeouts in a complete-game effort.

Brooke Vestal took the loss for Ole Miss after being on the hook for Auburn’s 3rd inning run. Catelyn Riley followed her stellar performance in the circle in Saturday’s game by providing 2.2 innings of relief, where she allowed one hit and one walk.

Auburn will skip midweek action next week in exchange for an early series with the No. 11 Florida Gators. Auburn travels to Gainesville to open a three-game set next Thursday beginning at 5 p.m. CT at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

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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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