Skylar Elkins – Syndication Server

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.

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Auburn softball sweeps doubleheader of Northwestern and USC Upstate

After a rain delay saw Auburn softball’s tournament get delayed, the Tigers swept a doubleheader on Saturday against Northwestern and USC Upstate.

The Auburn Tigers continued their winning ways, coming back after a weather suspension on Friday to sweep a doubleheader on Saturday.

Auburn took on Northwestern and USC Upstate as part of the Jane B. Moore Memorial Tournament at Jane B. Moore Field. The first game of the day’s events saw a pitcher’s duel take place, with the Tigers taking the 1-0 win in the end. Auburn found its offense in game two, taking out USC Upstate 10-4.

Head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] made sure to show how proud he was of his pitchers when the games got put in tough spots.

“Just a phenomenal job in the circle from both Maddie (Penta) and Annabelle (Widra),” Dean said. “We found a way to win in that first game against a tough pitcher. We kept battling at the plate in that second game. I like how we continued to compete. Annabelle did a fantastic job giving us a chance to win that game.”

It took Auburn (10-2-1) a few innings before it was able to stick the only run of the game on the board against Northwestern (7-6). A [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] walk began the 4th inning, where she was then lifted for pinch runner Thalia Martin, who advanced to third on two later groundouts.

With two outs and the Wildcats close to getting out of the inning, [autotag]Aubrie Lisenby[/autotag] slapped a ball over to third, which then resulted in a throwing error by the Northwestern third baseman and a run scored by the Tigers.

While the Wildcats had a chance to tie it in the 7th with a runner on third, [autotag]Rose Roach[/autotag] fielded a grounder and fired it to the plate where Lisenby protected the shutout.

The second game of the twin bill began positively for the Tigers as [autotag]Anna Wohlers[/autotag] drew a walk before giving way to [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag], who hit an RBI double to give Auburn the early 1-0 lead over USC Upstate (8-8).

The Spartans then made a huge statement to open up the 2nd, as they quickly got the bases loaded before Denver Lauer sent a grand slam over the left field wall to give her a team a 4-1 lead.

What did the Tigers do as a result? Well, Rose Roach bunted for a single before [autotag]Skylar Elkins[/autotag] blasted a two-run home run to left field, cutting the deficit to one. It was Elkins’ first homer in her collegiate career.

Peralta hit a two-run shot of her own to give the Tigers the lead again in the 3rd, and Roach hit an infield single that would score [autotag]Makayla Packer[/autotag] later in the inning. Auburn scored four in the 4th to put the nail in coffin, securing the 10-4 win.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] recorded her third-straight shutout in the win over Northwestern. She pitched the full seven innings, striking out 10, only walking one and only giving up four hits. [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] earned the win in the victory over USC Upstate, striking out four, giving up just one run and one hit in her 6.0 innings of relief for [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag].

On the offensive side, Lech and Roach were the only Tigers to have a multi-hit performance in either game. Lech ended the day at 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a double, while Roach finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and three singles.

Auburn looks to build on this success with another doubleheader on Sunday, taking on North Texas at 12 p.m. CT and USC Upstate in a rematch at 3 p.m. CT.

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Auburn softball opens Puerto Vallarta College Challenge with extra-inning win

The No. 21 Tigers needed late-game heroics to win its first game in Mexico.

The No. 25 Auburn Tigers began their stay at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge a day earlier than expected by playing its first game of the weekend on Wednesday rather than Thursday due to impending rain.

Wednesday’s opener against Wichita State played out similarly to the Tigers’ season opener with Virginia Tech last Friday, where the game needed extra innings to complete. However, Auburn managed to sneak out with an 8-6 win over the Shockers.

Auburn led Wichita State, 6-1, heading to the bottom of the 7th inning before the Shockers stormed back to force extra innings. With two outs in the inning, Wichita State’s Bailey Urban nailed a grand slam to cut the Auburn lead to 6-5, and a wild pitch two at-bats later allowed another run to score to force extra innings.

[autotag]Rose Roach[/autotag] and [autotag]Nelia Peralta[/autotag] teamed up to play the role of hero in the top of the 8th inning to seal the win. Roach grounded out to allow [autotag]Axe Milanowski[/autotag] to score from 3rd base to push the Tigers ahead by one run. One at-bat later, Peralta singled up the inning to score [autotag]Skylar Elkins[/autotag] to extend the Tigers’ lead to 8-6.

Wichita State failed to answer, as they went down in order in the bottom half of the 8th inning to end the game.

Roach was the Tigers’ top batter in the game by going 1-for-3 at the plate with three RBI. Peralta and Elkins followed suit with two RBI each. Maddie Penta allowed three hits over 6.1 innings of work in the victory, striking out 10 batters.

Auburn returns to the field Thursday to face UC Davis and No. 16 Utah at noon and 2:30 p.m. CT respectively. FloSoftball will handle the broadcast of each game.

Auburn softball splits season-opening twin bill with Virginia Tech, Belmont

The No. 19 Tigers dropped its opener with Virginia Tech before bouncing back to stomp Belmont in the nightcap.

The 2024 campaign has officially kicked off for the No. 19 Auburn Tigers, and they close out opening day with a 1-1 record.

Auburn met Virginia Tech and Belmont on Friday as part of the opening day of the Tiger Invitational at Jane B. Moore Field. The first game of the day saw Auburn force extra innings with the Hokies before ultimately suffering defeat, 8-1. The Tigers were able to bounce back in game two by earning a five-run win over Belmont to close the day, 6-1.

Head coach [autotag]Mickey Dean[/autotag] shared what he hopes to see his team improve upon before Saturday’s action.

“We weren’t consistent with extra-base hits throughout the day,” Dean said. “We’re hitting balls to the fence but getting singles. We need to be more aggressive on the base paths. We weren’t productive with runners on base. We struck out a lot with runners on base. We can’t win ball games like that.”

Auburn (1-1) struck first in its opening game with Virginia Tech (2-0). Maryland transfer [autotag]Amelia Lech[/autotag] introduced herself to the Auburn faithful by drilling a solo home run over the center field fence to put the Tigers up, 1-0 in the 4th inning. Virginia Tech’s Emily LeGette answered by hitting a solo shot of her own to tie the game in the ensuing inning.

The game remained tied at 1-1 until the top of the 8th inning when Virginia Tech rattled off seven runs to end the game with an 8-1 win. The Hokies scored runs on an Auburn error, a sacrifice fly, and a single, with the final blow being a grand slam off the bat of Rachel Castine.

The second-half of the twinbill began the same as the first, with a solo home run. This time, it was [autotag]KK McCrary[/autotag] that did the damage. Her 1st inning home run put Auburn ahead of Belmont (1-1), 1-0, and the Tigers would ride that momentum to a 6-1 victory over the Bruins. McCrary and [autotag]Skylar Elkins[/autotag] each had two RBI in the contest.

[autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag] struck out eight batters in 7.0 innings of work in the Tigers loss to Virginia Tech. She allowed six hits, a walk, and an earned run in her season debut. [autotag]Annabelle Widra[/autotag] earned the win over Belmont by striking out five batters over 2.0 innings. [autotag]Shelby Lowe[/autotag] combined to strike out three batters in 3.0 innings between both games.

Offensively, [autotag]Icess Tresvik[/autotag] was the lone batter to record multiple hits in either game, as she ended the day going 4-or-8 at the plate with three singles and a double.

Auburn looks to avenge Friday’s loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday by facing the Hokies in a rematch at 1 p.m. CT. The Tigers will also meet Illinois at 4 p.m. CT for the first time this weekend. The Fighting Illini dropped both of their games on Friday to Virginia Tech and Belmont respectively.

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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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