Auburn softball had a strong showing in the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational. The Tigers won four of their five games and are now 9-1.
Auburn faced off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Wisconsin Badgers, No. 11 Texas Longhorns, No. 3 UCLA Bruins, and USF Bulls from the loaded field.
The Tigers faced off against Texas Tech on Thursday to start the event and started things off with a bang.
Game 1: Texas Tech Red Raiders
Winning Pitcher: Shelby Lowe (4-0)
Losing Pitcher: Kendall Fritz (2-1)
Auburn fell behind 1-0 in the second inning before retaking the lead in the bottom of the inning after a two-run rally. Auburn never looked back from that point, scoring one run in the fourth and five in the fifth to win 7-1. Bri Ellis led the offense, hitting a three-run home run to secure the win. Shelby Lowe settled in after allowing the early run, pitching 5.0 innings and allowing just the one run on two hits, and striking out three batters.
Game 2: Wisconsin Badgers
Winning Pitcher: Shelby Lowe (5-0)
Losing Pitcher: Maddie Schwartz (3-1)
The Tigers wasted no time jumping on the Badgers, scoring four runs in the first inning and another one in the second inning to take a commanding 5-0 lead. Auburn added three more runs in the sixth inning on their way to a 9-3 win. Makayla Packer, Denver Bryant, and Carlee McCondichie all hit home runs to lead Auburn’s offense. Lowe had another strong start for Auburn, allowing one run on two hits and two walks over five innings. She also struck out eight batters.
Game 3: No. 11 Texas Longhorns
Winning Pitcher: Maddie Penta (3-0)
Losing Pitcher: Hailey Dolcini (2-1)
Auburn picked up their biggest win of the tournament against Texas, beating them 6-2. Auburn once again came out hot, hitting two home runs in the first inning to take a 4-0 lead. That was all the support Maddie Penta needed as she shut down the Longhorns lineup. She allowed two runs on two hits and three walks in her complete-game performance. She struck out nine batters.
Game 4: No. 3 UCLA Bruins
Winning Pitcher: Holly Azevedo (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Shelby Lowe (5-1)
Auburn suffered their first loss of the season against UCLA, falling to the Bruins 9-0. Neither team’s offense could get anything going until the fourth inning. UCLA had a three-run inning to chase Lowe from the game. Before exploding for six runs in the sixth inning to hand Auburn their first loss of the season. Auburn managed just two hits in the game. Lowe allowed three runs on four hits in 3.1 innings of work.
Game 5: USF Bulls
Winning Pitcher: Maddie Penta (4-0)
Losing Pitcher: Erin Poepping
Save: Shelby Lowe (1)
Auburn rebounded from their loss and made sure to end the weekend on a positive note, beating USF 5-1 for their fourth win of the event. Auburn’s offense came alive again, getting the leadoff batter on in each inning and scoring their five runs on seven hits and four walks. Sydney Cox had two of Auburn’s hits and Nelia Peralta hit a home run to lead the offense. Penta had another great outing, allowing one run and three hits in five innings while striking out five batters. Lowe struck out five batters in the final two innings to earn the save.
Auburn will return to action on Wednesday at Jacksonville State, first pitch is set for 5 p.m. CT.