Tag: Shelby Lowe

Productive first inning leads Auburn to run-rule win over UAB

Auburn smacks three home runs in their first midweek game of the season.

After two straight weekends of round-robin tournament play, the No. 20 Auburn Tigers welcomed in-state foe UAB for a midweek tilt on Wednesday.

Behind a multiple-hit performance from [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag], and [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag], the Tigers snagged a convincing win, defeating the Blazers 10-1 in five innings at Jane B. Moore Field.

Auburn got off to a great start by scoring half of their runs in the 1st inning. [autotag]Carlee McCondichie[/autotag] and [autotag]Jessie Blaine[/autotag] each recorded RBI singles in the inning while Bri Ellis and [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] each clubbed long balls in the inning to move Auburn ahead, 5-0.

Auburn extended its lead to 6-0 in the 2nd inning on a Nelia Peralta double that scored Icess Tresvik. One inning later, Tresvick smashed a two-run blast that was set up by a Makayla Packer RBI triple to extend the Tigers’ lead to 9-0.

The Tigers’ final run would be courtesy of [autotag]Aubrie Lisenby[/autotag]. Lisenby recorded an infield single on the first pitch of her at-bat in the 4th inning that scored [autotag]Axe Milanowski [/autotag]to give Auburn a 10-1 lead. UAB’s lone run of the game took place earlier in the inning when Sierra Frasier hit a solo home run to left field.

Ellis and Tresvik each recorded two hits and two-run home runs in the game to lead the Tigers’ offensive attack. In the circle, [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] allowed zero hits and zero runs while striking out three batters in 3.0 innings. Widra and [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] pitched the final two innings combining to allow two hits and striking out two batters.

Auburn softball returns to Jane B. Moore Field this weekend to host the Plainsman Invite. Auburn will face Merrimack, Brown, and North Dakota State over the three-day tournament.

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SEC coaches pick Auburn to finish 9th in preseason poll

Auburn Softball is one of ten SEC programs that will begin the season in the top 25.

After winning 40 games last season, the Auburn Tigers are looking to build off of last season’s success and make a deeper run in the NCAA postseason.

The SEC is predicted to be one of the nation’s best conferences again in 2023, as ten teams will begin the season ranked in D1Softball’s preseason poll. With so many strong teams, how will the final standings shake out? Those who know the SEC best, the respective head coaches of the 13  programs that make up the SEC, have revealed their predictions for how they see the conference season unfolding.

For Auburn, the Tigers are projected to finish 9th in the conference.

Florida, the SEC’s lone representative in the 2022 Women’s College World Series, has been voted as the favorite to win the SEC this season. Last season’s tournament champion, Arkansas, is projected to finish 3rd.

Many of Auburn’s offensive weapons return for the 2023 season including [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag] and [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], as well as strikeout units in [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] and [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag].

Here’s a look at the 2023 SEC Coaches Preseason poll.

1 Florida
2 Tennessee
3 Arkansas
4 Alabama
5 LSU
6 Georgia
7 Kentucky
8 Missouri
9 Auburn
10 Ole Miss
11 Mississippi State
12 Texas A&M
13 South Carolina

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Auburn Softball named a ‘Team to Watch’ in SEC

What is Auburn Softball’s ceiling in 2023? D1Softball weighs in.

After winning 40 games last season, the No. 19 Auburn Tigers are poised for another big season.

The Tigers return two of three key pitchers from last season and a myriad of solid bats in the lineup that will be sure to lead them to success. That is why D1Softball has listed Auburn as a “team to watch” in the SEC this season.

As part of their SEC preview, D1Softball believes that Auburn has all the pieces needed to take a step forward in 2023.

The Tigers have all the pieces to make another jump this season providing they can stay healthy, especially in the circle. [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] tried to pitch through pain for the entirety of the 2022 season and her performance understandably suffered. It put even more pressure on [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag], who threw 195.0 innings. If both are back to full strength following Lowe’s offseason surgery, there are few duos in the conference or the country that can match them. The Tigers added some pitcher/utility players to give them more depth in multiple areas. Auburn’s increased strength and conditioning work was apparent last season by the major boost in the offensive numbers. [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag], [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] and [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] are among the players returning who can provide another jolt.

The Tigers open the 2023 slate on Friday, Feb. 11 in Clearwater, Fla. at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Auburn will compete with St. John’s, Fordham, Pittsburgh, Indiana, and Illinois during opening weekend.

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Auburn Softball projected to finish 8th in SEC

D1Softball predicts Auburn to make another run to the NCAA Tournament in 2023.

The 2022 Auburn Tigers returned to a familiar level of play last season by winning 40 games and making a run toward an NCAA Tournament berth.

The excitement continues to build for [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag]’s squad as many of last season’s pieces return in 2023. D1Softball believes that Auburn will build on last season’s success, and make another trip to the postseason.

In what is expected to be a challenging conference slate, D1Softball.com has Auburn projected to finish the season as the No. 8 team in the SEC.

While Auburn is projected to finish in the bottom half of the SEC, the strength of the conference needs to be considered. Despite a No. 8 prediction, Auburn enters the D1Softball preseason poll at No. 19, with seven SEC teams ranked above them.

D1Softball.com’s Projected SEC Standings

  1. Florida
  2. Arkansas
  3. Alabama
  4. Georgia
  5. Tennessee
  6. LSU
  7. Kentucky
  8. Auburn
  9. Ole Miss
  10. Missouri
  11. Mississippi State
  12. Texas A&M
  13. South Carolina

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] and [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] return to anchor the pitching staff, while [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag], [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag], and a plethora of others return to provide offensive power.

The Tigers open the season on Friday, Feb. 10 in Clearwater, Fla. as part of the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Auburn will face St. John’s and Fordham on opening day.

RELATED: Bri Ellis listed among FloSoftball’s top 10 sluggers in College Softball

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Auburn Softball to open season in D1Softball’s preseason top 25

Auburn is in a good place to capitalize on last season’s 40-win campaign.

Auburn Softball enjoyed its best season since 2018 last year by winning 40  games and making an appearance in the Clemson Regional of the NCAA Softball Tournament.

This season, Auburn’s expectations have risen due to the return of several sluggers and solid pitchers. The potential that Auburn brings into the 2023  season has certainly weighed in on the national media, as the Tigers have made the cut in a preseason top 25 ranking.

D1Softball recently released its preseason rankings and has Auburn opening the season as the No. 19 team in the country. Auburn is one of ten SEC programs to earn a place in D1Softball’s initial rankings.

Auburn returns a plethora of hitters to its lineup including [autotag]Bri Ellis[/autotag], who led the team in home runs, RBI, and slugging percentage in 2022. Notable bats such as [autotag]Aspyn Godwin[/autotag], [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag], and [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] also return to the roster.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] and [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] return to the pitching circle as juniors this season. Last year the duo combined to strike out 398 batters, 128 of those strikeouts were against SEC competition.

Here is a look at the initial poll from D1Softball.com

1 Oklahoma
2 UCLA
3 Oklahoma State
4 Florida State
5 Florida
6 Alabama
7 Northwestern
8 Arkansas
9 Clemson
10 Georgia
11 Stanford
12 Tennessee
13 Virginia Tech
14 Texas
15 UCF
16 Kentucky
17 LSU
18 Arizona
19 Auburn
20 Louisiana
21 Washington
22 Duke
23 Oregon
24 North Texas
25 Ole Miss

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Shelby Lowe throws no-hitter, Tigers have impressive start to season

Auburn softball off to a roaring start, Shelby Lowe close to perfect in game 2

Auburn softball had a nearly perfect first day of the season.

Sophomore Shelby Lowe (1-0) threw a no-hitter against St. John’s in the Tigers’ second game of the season. The left-hander struck out 11 batters and hit one batter in the five innings she pitched, as Auburn cruised to a 14-0 win.

Auburn’s bats started the game hot and never cooled off, the Tigers scored five runs in the first inning and scored at least two runs in every inning.

Makayla Packer started the game off with a walk and promptly showcased her speed. She stole second and third before scoring on an error. Sydney Cox hit a home run just a few pitches later to give Auburn a 2-0 lead and open the floodgates.

Aspyn Godwin hit a two-run home run to stretch Auburn’s lead to 4-0 before the Tigers recorded an out.

While 10 different batters got hits for Auburn, it was Cox who stole the show offensively.

Cox, who started at third base, went 4-for-4 with a home run, three doubles, four RBI, and three runs scored and was named the Offensive Player of the Game.

Packer also had a strong performance offensively. Auburn’s centerfielder went 2-for-2 with a triple, two RBI, two runs scored, and stole two bases.

The win was Auburn’s second of the season after they beat Seton Hall 10-3 earlier in the day to open the season.

Auburn jumped out to an immediate 1-0 lead when leadoff batter Parker sent the second pitch she saw over the fence.

The Tigers wasted no time adding on either, adding two more runs in the first inning and three more in the second inning to jump out to a commanding 6-0 lead. That was plenty of room for sophomore pitcher Maddie Penta.

She may have not thrown a no-hitter, but Penta (1-0) was also dominant in the circle for Auburn. The right-hander allowed just two earned runs and four hits in seven innings of work while striking out 16 batters.

Auburn will return to Jane B. Moore Field Saturday for rematches with both Seton Hall and St. John’s. They will face Seton Hall at 2:30 p.m. CT and St. John’s at 5 p.m. CT. Auburn will close play their final game of the Tiger Invitational Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT against UMass Lowell.

Auburn softball hoping to turn season around against Texas A&M

Now 1-8 in conference play and 19-11 overall, the Tigers look to turn things around against a 25-9 Texas A&M squad on the road.

Auburn softball entered the month of March on top of the world. Eleven straight wins improved the Tigers record to 16-1 and saw the ladies rise all the way to No. 7 in the NCAA RPI.

Since then the Tigers have lost 10 games. In those 10 games:

  • four of the losses were shutouts
  • the Tigers allowed more than five runs in four of the losses
  • the Tigers scored fewer than three runs in nine of the ten losses

Now 1-8 in conference play and 19-11 overall, the Tigers look to turn things around against a 25-9 Texas A&M squad on the road.

They’ll have to find a spark offensively to escape College Station with a series victory. As of right now Makenna Dowell (junior) and Tyler King (senior) are the only two Auburn starters with batting averages over .300, meanwhile Texas A&M has five. The Tigers will most likely face off against Makinzy Herzog, Grace Uribe, and Kayla Poynter on the mound all of which have produced a combined 165 strikeouts for the Aggies.

Despite getting swept, the Aggies put up 16 total runs against No. 4 Alabama last weekend. Head coach Mickey Dean acknowledged their hot bats and emphasized, “it’s important we pitch smart, play good defense and score early. I think if we score early, we will kind of relax a little bit.”

Defensively Auburn will likely start freshman Shelby Lowe (0.88 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 118 SO), freshman Maddie Penta (2.64 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 76 SO), and sophomore KK Dismukes (1.30 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 32 SO) on the mound.

Auburn head coach Mickey Dean recently detailed how he and this team are working together on making improvements:

“Before you can ever experience success, you are going to experience failure. You hope it doesn’t happen as a group, but sometimes it does. It’s not a physical battle. It’s a mental battle. As a coach, you can focus on the negative or focus on the positive. There has to be a mixture. If players are going to play well, they have to feel about what they are doing. If they don’t feel good about what they are doing, they’re not going to play well. A lot of that is what you say to them. You still want them to be positive going into a game even when they have things to work on.”

The Tigers’ series opener against Texas A&M begins at 6 p.m. CST Friday on SEC Network Plus.