Mariah Penta – Syndication Server

Recap: Auburn softball’s comeback falls short in game two with Ole Miss

After a game one win on Friday, Auburn softball’s comeback falls short, evening the series with Ole Miss in game two

Auburn softball looked to continue momentum on Saturday evening, trying to win the series over Ole Miss. The Tigers won a pitcher’s duel on Friday in extra innings and wanted to rebound after a long night.

That attempt was not successful, though, as the Rebels evened the series with a 4-2 victory, despite the late surge by Auburn.

The Tigers got things going early on in the game, scoring in the top of the 1st. After [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] and [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] both singled in their plate appearances, [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored McCrary with one out, making it a 1-0 ball game.

Nothing else happened until the 3rd inning came around. With a runner on third base and two outs, Jalia Lassiter reached and advanced to second after a throwing error, scoring the first Ole Miss run.

Jaden Pone followed that up with a single into center, scoring Lassiter and giving the Rebels a 2-1 lead.

Ole Miss continued momentum in the 4th. After a strikeout led off the inning, Aynslie Furbush launched a home run over the center field wall to stretch the lead to two runs.

Delaney Rummell and Angelina DeLeon reached the corner bases immediately following this, which set up Jamie Mackay to hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Rummell and making it 4-1.

Auburn did not give up fight despite a quiet next couple of innings. The 7th showed a large fight put up by the Tigers.

[autotag]Chalea Clemmons[/autotag] singled to left field to lead things off. [autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] came in to run for Clemmons, and advanced to second on a passed ball.

[autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] then drew a four-pitch walk, followed by a walk from McCrary later in the inning to load the bases with just one out.

[autotag]Rose Roach[/autotag] fouled out deep enough to left field to score Penta, making it 4-2 with two gone. Peralta then ground out right after the RBI, ending the game and the chance to win the series in game two for the Tigers.

[autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] picked up the loss, dropping to 4-3 on the season. She pitched four full innings for the night, giving up four runs on three hits, while striking out three.

Brianna Lopez earned the win for the Rebels. She pitched five innings in the game, giving up one run on three hits. She also struck out eight and walked three.

The series will come down to game three in Oxford on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon CST, and the game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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.

N🚫-N🚫 ALERT!

Maddie Penta and Shelby Lowe combine for the 35th no-hitter in program history! #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/vjMdZyiR6e

— Auburn Softball (@AuburnSoftball) April 10, 2024

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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.

Auburn softball drops series finale to Texas A&M

Auburn led 6-1 through two innings but was outscored 13-0 the rest of the way to suffer the sweep in College Station.

No. 25 Auburn appeared to be well on its way to earning a win in its series finale with No. 12 Texas A&M on Sunday, but an Aggies offensive explosion quickly derailed the Tigers’ plans.

Auburn (15-9-1, 2-7 SEC) jumped out to a 6-1 lead in Sunday’s game with Texas A&M (18-4, 8-1 SEC) through two innings. However, the Aggies would outscore Auburn 13-0 over the final three innings to earn the 14-6 run-rule victory at the Aggie Softball Complex in College Station, Texas.

In a game where Auburn had a comfortable lead, head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] blamed his team’s defense and the youth in the circle for the loss.

“Our defense has been a strong point for us this season, and it let us down today,” Dean said postgame. “Texas A&M cut open with the bats. Our younger pitchers struggled a bit. The big innings for both teams were sparked by defensive miscues.”

Texas A&M struck first by stealing home to go ahead, 1-0, in the first inning. It would not take the Tigers long to respond, as they blasted through to put six runs on the board in the top of the 2nd inning. [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] tied the game with an RBI single, and [autotag]Abbey Smith[/autotag] gave Auburn the lead by taking a base on balls with the bases loaded.

[autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] blew the game open two batters later by crushing a grand slam over the left field fence to push the Tigers ahead, 6-1.

The lead, unfortunately, was short-lived, as the Aggies used two, two-run home runs and a double to tie the game at 6-6 in the 3rd inning. Texas A&M added seven more runs in the 4th inning, with the headliner of the inning coming off the bat of Rylen Wiggins. Wiggins smashed a two-run shot to right-center field to give Texas A&M the 13-6 lead.

Texas A&M’s final punch was a solo home run in the 5th inning by Koko Wooley to put the run-rule into effect.

[autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] recorded two hits in the loss, while Mariah Penta led the team in RBI with four. Maddie Penta lasted 2 1/3 innings in the circle, allowing five runs on four hits while striking out one batter. Annabelle Widra, Emmah Rolfe, and Malayna Tamborra each saw action in the circle as well.

The Tigers will take a break from midweek action this week to focus on No. 7 Tennessee, who comes to town for a three-game set beginning Friday at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn.

Auburn softball tops North Texas, USC Upstate to complete undefeated weekend

The Tigers ended the Jane B. Moore Memorial by outscoring North Texas and USC Upstate, 16-4, on Sunday.

After earning two wins in Saturday’s action, the Auburn Tigers (12-2-1) closed the Jane B. Moore Memorial by grabbing two more wins on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers had no issue with North Texas in the first game of the day, as they used a late-inning power surge to take a run-rule victory. In game two, Auburn needed a walk-off grand slam off the bat of Makayla Packer to earn the win over USC Upstate.

Head coach Mickey Dean was ecstatic over his team’s efforts on Sunday, especially in the final at-bat of the win over USC Upstate.

“That was fun,” Dean said Sunday. “We had some kids try to put forth some great efforts today. Even in the innings we didn’t score, we put pressure on them. Pressure tends to do funny things. We kept the pressure on. Makayla (Packer) was ready. She knew exactly what’s going to happen there. She knew exactly what the pitcher was going to try to do. She capitalized. It was beautiful.”

Here is a rundown of how Sunday’s action played out at Jane B. Moore Field.

Game one: Auburn 8 North Texas 0 (6 innings)

	Runs	Hits	Errors	LOB
North Texas	0	2	1	2
Auburn	8	9	0	1

Neither team could muster a run through the first three innings. That changed in the 4th inning when [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] hit a sacrifice fly to score [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] to put Auburn ahead, 1-0. It would not take long for Auburn’s bats to warm up, as they rattled off seven runs over the next two innings to take home the run-rule victory. Wohlers and [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] each hit two-run blasts in the 5th inning and [autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] ended the game with a three-run shot to left center field.

Packer and [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] each recorded two hits in the game while Wohlers and Penta drove in three runs. [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] was strong in the circle yet again by striking out 11 batters and allowing two hits in a six-inning effort. She has now pitched 27 consecutive innings without allowing a run. Penta has also struck out 45 batters while allowing just six hits over her last four games.

Game two: Auburn 8 USC Upstate 4

	Runs	Hits	Errors	LOB
USC Upstate	4	8	2	5
Auburn	8	9	0	2

The final game of the Jane B. Moore Memorial Tournament was a battle where Auburn ultimately prevailed. Wohlers continued her hot day at the plate by driving in two runs to put the Tigers up, 2-0, in the 1st inning. However, the Spartans answered by scoring four runs over the next two innings to lead 4-2 heading to the 5th inning. [autotag]Skylar Elkins[/autotag] cut into the lead by hitting her first home run of the season in the 5th, and [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] tied the game in the 6th inning with an RBI single. The final blow came off the bat of Packer, who crushed a walk-off grand slam to end the game.

[autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] earned the win by tossing a two-hit, one-strikeout performance over the final inning and a third. [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] allowed three hits and three earned runs in the start while [autotag]Malayna Tamborra[/autotag] recorded four innings of relief work.

Next Game

Auburn will get one final midweek tuneup before traveling to Columbia to open SEC play this weekend at Missouri. The Tigers will host Troy on Tuesday at Jane B. Moore Field for a 5:30 p.m. CT first pitch.

Auburn shuts out Georgia State behind Penta’s perfect game

The Auburn ace has now struck out 34 batters while allowing just two hits over her last three appearances in the circle.

If anyone can top a no-hit, 11-strikeout performance in her next appearance, it is Auburn right-hander [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag].

Last weekend, Penta completed the second no-hitter of the Plainsman Invite by shutting out Northern Iowa. Thursday, she took it one step further by tossing a perfect game in Auburn’s 8-0 run-rule win over Georgia State at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn.

Penta meant business early on by striking out the first batter of the game. She went on to strike out at least two batters over the final five innings and reached a streak of nine straight strikeouts between the 3rd and 6th innings to end the game with a season-best 13 strikeouts. Penta’s perfect game is the third in program history, and the first since [autotag]Kaylee Carlson[/autotag]’s perfect game against Ohio State in 2017.

Head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] credits the entire defense for Thursday’s perfect performance.

“Perfect games are special,” Dean said. “Maddie stayed ahead and put them away early in the count. A great game behind the plate from Aubrie (Lisenby) to go along with some great defensive efforts. We got some timely hits late to put it away.”

Auburn’s bats took a while to warm up Thursday, as they held a 1-0 advantage through three innings. Auburn’s offense came to life in the middle innings as they scored six runs over the next two innings. Auburn’s four-run 5th inning was headlined by a two-run RBI single by [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag]. [autotag]Chelea Clemmons[/autotag] put the run-rule into effect in the 6th inning by sending [autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] home on an RBI single.

Penta and [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] combined to record four of Auburn’s eight hits while [autotag]Aubrie Lisenby[/autotag] ended the game with three RBI.

Auburn returns to Jane B. Moore Field this weekend to host Northwestern, North Texas, and USC Upstate as part of the Jane B. Moore Memorial. Auburn opens the weekend at 5 p.m. CT Friday against Northwestern, a Women’s College World Series participant from last season.

Three consecutive games of 10+ strikeouts. 👀#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/MI4ug8YR6S

— Auburn Softball (@AuburnSoftball) March 1, 2024

Auburn splits Saturday action with Northern Iowa, Southeast Missouri at Plainsman Invite

Auburn dropped a tough game to Northern Iowa before bouncing back to run-rule Southeast Missouri on Saturday at Jane B. Moore Field.

After producing a no-hit gem in Friday’s Plainsman Invite opener against Southeast Missouri, Auburn softball hoped to keep the momentum going by earning two more wins on Saturday.

Those dreams only halfway came true, as the Tigers suffered a split in Saturday’s twin bill. Auburn fell in its first game to defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa before bouncing back to run-rule Southeast Missouri in the second game of the day.

Here is a breakdown of how the second day of the Plainsman Invite shaped up for the Auburn Tigers.

NORTHERN IOWA 4 AUBURN 2

Game one of the day saw Auburn run into a stretch of bad luck in the 4th inning. The Tigers and Panthers were tied at 0-0 before Auburn committed three errors in the inning which led to four Northern Iowa runs. The Panthers extended its lead to 4-0 in the 6th inning on a solo home run. The Tigers tried to storm back in the 6th inning as [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] and [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] each recorded RBI singles to cut the lead in half.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] struck out 10 batters in the complete game effort, but the 4th inning errors cost her a chance to win the game. [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] led the Tigers in hits with two.

AUBURN 13 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5 (5 INNINGS)

The Tigers got back on track in game two of the day by blowing past Southeast Missouri in a run-rule effort. Auburn scored 13 runs on seven hits and three home runs. The biggest smash of the game came off the bat of [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], who hit a grand slam in the 3rd inning. [autotag]Mariah Penta[/autotag] added to the Tigers’ eight-run 3rd inning with a solo home run, the first of her Auburn career. Lech put Auburn on the board one inning earlier with her fifth home run of the season, a solo blast.

Shelby Lowe followed her no-hit performance in Friday’s win over the Redhawks by allowing just three hits in 2 1/3 innings of work. [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] got the win in relief by sitting down the only two batters she faced on 13 pitches.

SUNDAY’S ACTION

Auburn concludes the Plainsman Invite on Sunday with a rematch against Northern Iowa. First pitch between the Tigers and Panthers is set for 2 p.m. CT.