Tag: Maddie Penta

Recap: Penta ties single-game strikeout record in Auburn’s extra inning win over Ole Miss

Auburn’s ace made the difference in Auburn’s low-scoring affair with Ole Miss.

It took four hours for Auburn to claim its series-opening win over Ole Miss on Friday night, but that fact is secondary compared to the true headline of the night.

Senior ace [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] worked overtime Friday by tossing a nine-inning effort in Auburn’s 2-1 win over Ole Miss. Over nine innings, Penta allowed one run on seven hits while walking five and striking out 18 batters. Her 18-strikeout performance is a career-high, and it ties a program record for the most in a game. She matched [autotag]Anna Thompson[/autotag]’s 18-strikeout performance in Auburn’s win over Middle Tennessee during the 2009 season.

Penta wanted to continue, but she was pulled in the 10th inning after throwing 172 pitches, 100 going for strikes. [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] kept the strong effort alive by striking out two batters over two perfect innings to secure the win.

“It was a valiant effort to be quite honest,” Auburn head coach Mickey Dean said on the Auburn Sports Network postgame show. “The pitch count kept going up and up. She wanted to stay in but I was like, ‘we are reaching that stupid number, Shelby (Lowe) can get it done.’ We are going to get a run, Shelby will get it done, we will get out of here with a win. And it happened.”

The second hero of the game was [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag], who scored both of Auburn’s runs on solo blasts. Tresvik tied the game in the 6th inning with a home run to left field, and delivered the final blow in the 11th inning to right-center field.

“Icess was due,” Dean said. “She looked more relaxed tonight and was willing to go middle and opposite field. She’s got the power.”

Tresvik, along with [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag], recorded three hits for the Tigers in the win. [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] earned a double for her seventh multi-base hit of the season.

Auburn goes for the series win Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.

[lawrence-related id=82190]

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Maddie Penta, Shelby Lowe combine for no-hitter in Auburn’s drubbing of UAB

Maddie Penta and Shelby Lowe teamed up to strike out seven batters in Auburn’s blowout win over the Blazers on Tuesday.

It has become normal for Auburn pitchers to toss gems against non-conference opponents. Tuesday’s action was no exception.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] and [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] combined to strike out seven batters while allowing zero runs or hits in Auburn’s 9-0 run-rule win over UAB Tuesday night at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn. The no-hitter was Auburn’s 35th of all time, and the first for the Tigers since last Wednesday’s game against Samford when Auburn’s staff combined to toss the fourth perfect game in program history.

Penta picked up her 12th win on Tuesday by tossing four innings of shutout softball, striking out five batters. She suffered two blemishes in the game, one took place in the 1st inning when she hit the second batter of the game, and the next was a base-on-balls in the 4th inning. Lowe took over in the 5th inning, striking out two of the three batters she faced to lock down the win.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] was pleased with the effort his two pitchers gave in the circle.

“We got off to a nice start,” Dean said postgame. “We continued to build off that. Our pitchers worked ahead. We averaged 15 pitches an inning, which is exactly where we want to be. We did a nice job.”

Auburn’s work at the plate began early as they ended the 1st inning with a four-run cushion. [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] scored two runs on a single to right field while [autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] drove home two additional runs on a double to left field. A fielder’s choice by UAB allowed [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] to score in the 2nd inning to extend Auburn’s lead to 5-0, which paved the way for another big inning.

Auburn added three more runs in the 3rd inning thanks to two RBI singles by Wohlers and [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag]. The final blow was delivered by [autotag]Riley McNemar[/autotag], who sent Axe Milanowski home on a sacrifice fly.

Auburn will look to carry the momentum earned from Tuesday’s win to Baton Rouge this weekend. The Tigers will face No. 6 LSU this weekend for a three-game set beginning Friday at 6 p.m. CT.

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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.

 

Recap: Auburn picks up pair of wins in War Eagle Classic

The Auburn softball team put on a show in front of a large pre-A Day crowd with a pair of wins in the War Eagle Classic.

The Auburn softball team put on a show in front of a large pre-A Day crowd with a pair of wins at Jane B. Moore Field on Friday in the War Eagle Classic.

After struggling in SEC play the past couple of weeks,  the Tigers were happy to play a pair of non-conference games to get back on track.

The opener was all Tigers in a 9-1 route of Conference USA opponent Louisiana Tech, while the nightcap saw Auburn squeak by ACC opponent Georgia Tech in a 1-run victory.

Here is a rundown of the action from both contests.

Game One: Auburn 9 Louisiana Tech 1

Runs Hits Errors LOB
Auburn 9 10 0 4
Arkansas 1 4 3 5

It’s never a good sign when a team has almost as many errors as they do base hits. That’s exactly the kind of game LA Tech it had on Friday afternoon on the Plains. Auburn starter [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] (5-3) wasn’t dominant by any means, but she was able to work her way around trouble in multiple innings through a 5-inning, 6-strikeout, 1-run performance.

On the offensive side of things for the Tigers, things started early and often. Auburn put up three runs in the first two innings before a six run 5th ended the game due to mercy rule.

Anna Wohlers and KK McCrary started things off with back-to-back long balls in the final inning before Tech’s defense unraveled to ultimately seal its fate. After a trio of hits from [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag], [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], and [autotag]Icess Tresvick[/autotag], Amelia Lech sent a fly ball to center field.

Tech center fielder Alexis Gilio made the catch but delivered an errant throw in, allowing the “merry go round” to go into motion as each Tiger baserunner advanced 60 feet.

A few pitches later, Mariah Penta reached on another error, allowing yet another unearned run to score. Icess Travick, who advanced to third on the error, stole home and was ruled safe after a Louisiana Tech challenge. After Skylar Elkins walked on four pitches, Annabelle Windra delivered the final blow on a walk-off RBI single to give Auburn its second mercy-rule victory in a row.

Game Two: Auburn 4 Georgia Tech 3

Runs Hits Errors LOB
Auburn 4 7 1 5
Georgia Tech 3 7 1 5

While Auburn smoothly sailed through the first game of the day, the Tigers had to come from behind in dramatic fashion to claim victory in the nightcap.

Ace pitcher [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] (S, 1) got the ball in the second game of the day and was immediately met with resistance. Although Penta has been dominant at times this season, the first-inning continued to be her kryptonite on Friday.

The senior allowed three Yellow Jacket runs in the first inning but was able to settle down over the next five. She finished her night with 6 innings pitched, 3 runs (1 earned) and 9 strikeouts.

Auburn’s bats weren’t able to get anything of substance going until the bottom of the 6th when they blitz’d Georgia Tech’s Sophia Voyles and Kinsey Norton for 4 runs.

The big hits came from Amelia Lech and Mariah Penta, who drilled back-to-back RBI doubles to flip the script of the game. After ending game one with her bat, Annabelle Windra picked up the win on the mound in game two with a scoreless 7th inning to secure a 2-0 day for her Tigers.

Next up

The undefeated day improved Auburn’s record to 19-11 on the season. The Tigers play two more today against the same opponents with a chance to sweep the War Eagle Classic on A-Day.

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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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Auburn snaps No. 4 Tennessee’s long win streak with Sunday victory

A clutch 6th inning at the plate lifted Auburn to a win over No. 4 Tennessee on Sunday.

Auburn softball dropped a pair of four-run games to No. 4 Tennessee this weekend, and looked to show fight on Sunday in hopes of earning a win in the series.

The Tigers struck first in the 1st inning, and added insurance runs in the 6th inning to clinch a Sunday victory, defeating the Lady Vols, 4-1 at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn.

In addition to Auburn’s clutch hitting, [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] was a force in the circle. In a complete game effort, Penta struck out seven batters while allowing a run on five hits. Auburn head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] knows that Tennessee’s bats are lethal, and commends Penta’s strong effort in the win.

“(Tennessee’s) hitters are like piranhas… If they get off to a good start, it’s going to be a long game,” Dean said. I thought Maddie (Penta) and our defense did a nice job in those first three innings and then you threw the two runs on top. It kind of kept them in a lull. It took us seven innings, but in that last inning, we got that insurance. We had that big defensive play in right field. We work on this stuff all the time. That was key to winning the ball game.”

Auburn set the tone of the game early by scoring two runs in the 1st inning. After Penta retired the side in order in the top half of the inning, two runs scored in the bottom frame on an infield single by Icess Tresvik, which resulted in an error on Tennessee shortstop Laura Mealer.

The Lady Vols answered in the top of the 4th inning thanks to an RBI single by Taylor Pannell, but momentum would be erased in the 6th with an RBI triple by Nelia Peralta and an RBI single by Amelia Lech.

The win is the 700th of Dean’s collegiate career, it also snapped a 20-game Tennessee win streak.

The Tigers return to Jane B. Moore Field on Wednesday to face in-state foe Samford. First pitch between the Tigers and Bulldogs is set for 6 p.m. CT.

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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 wins extra inning affair at Troy

The No. 25 Tigers needed 10 innings to do it, but they eventually earned a midweek win on the road.

The No. 25 Auburn Tigers needed three extra frames to do it, but they were able to pull off a midweek win on the road at Troy on Tuesday night.

After 10 innings of softball, Auburn’s winning run was scored on a throwing error by Troy catcher Emma Faulk. [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] took advantage of the errant throw by running home to give Auburn the 4-3 lead, a lead which ultimately stuck.

The Tigers held a lead over Troy on three occasions, and head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] was impressed with his team’s effort to keep fighting.

“It was just grit,” Dean said postgame. “To come on the road midweek after playing a three-game series and face a really good Troy team. We had to face the emotions of having the game won and then tying it up, having the game won and then tying it up. The good thing is that we kept working and never let them take the lead. That was key. Shelby (Lowe) had been paying attention throughout the game. She came in and threw the pitches she needed to shut them down.”

Auburn led 2-0 heading into the 5th inning thanks to a solo home run by [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] and an RBI single by [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] that led to a throwing error. The Trojans responded in the 6th inning on an infield single by Libby Baker, and Cassidy Boltz forced extra innings in the 7th by hitting a solo home run.

[autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] took advantage of another Trojan mishap in the 8th. She tripled and later scored on a throwing error to push Auburn back in front, 3-2. The lead was shortlived as Baker hit a sacrifice fly to center field deep enough to score Taylor McKinney to tie the game at 3-3.

[autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] earned the win in relief of [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] by striking out four batters and allowing two hits in two innings of work. Penta tossed eight innings, striking out 12 batters and allowing two earned runs on five hits.

Offensively, Auburn recorded nine hits with Wohlers and Tresvik each grabbing two.

The Tigers will travel to No. 12 Texas A&M to begin a three-game series in College Station. Game one of the series begins Friday at 6 p.m. CT.

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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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Recap: Auburn falls to Missouri in SEC opener

Recap: Auburn falls to Missouri in SEC opener

No. 12 Missouri got the best of No. 25 Auburn in game 1 of a 3-game set in Columbia on Friday afternoon.

Although Auburn’s starting pitcher, and reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year, [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] (6-3) came into the game boasting a dazzling ERA, it was Missouri starter Laurin Krings (8-2) who stole the show on the mound.

Missouri jumped out to an early lead thanks to cleanup hitter Kara Daly’s 2-run, first-inning moonshot off of the aforementioned Penta.

From there, both pitchers settled in for the middle innings. Krings in particular was dominant, retiring 9 Auburn hitters in a row after walking her first batter of the game.

That run of retired Tigers in a row ending when Makayla Packer drew a leadoff walk to open the top half of the fourth. The speedy senior went on to steal a base and score on an Amelia Lech single later that inning. Junior Nelia Peralta tied the score with a single of her own just one batter later.

Unfortunately for Auburn, the rally ended with a runner in scoring position. That would be the final chance the Tigers had at scoring for the remainder of the night against a dominant Laurin Krings.

The senior received 3 final runs of support in the bottom of the fifth when Julia Crenshaw walloped a 3-run shot that ended up being the difference.

Krings did the rest from there, finishing a complete game, 9 strikeout win. She only allowed two hits.

Missouri may have one the opener, but Auburn still has an opportunity to steal the first series of the SEC season if it can win tomorrow and Sunday.

First pitch for tomorrow’s game 2 matinee matchup is scheduled for 2 PM CST, rain permitting.

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