AUBURN – The Auburn Tigers hosted the War Eagle Classic at Jane B. Moore Field this weekend.
The Tigers played two games against the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets and two games against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
On Friday, Auburn beat Louisiana Tech 9-1 in five innings and Georgia Tech 4-3. The Tigers beat the Bulldogs 5-0 in the first game on Saturday before falling 10-9 to the Yellowjackets in the second.
Auburn was led to victory in its first game by a dominant pitching performance from Shelby Lowe. In five innings of work to earn her fifth win of the season, Lowe allowed one run off of four hits and struck six batters out.
Four Tigers had multiple hits and only three did not have any.
It took a four-run comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning for Auburn to get the job done in the second game.
Maddie Penta earned her first save of the season in a six-inning effort in which she allowed only one earned run off of five hits and struck nine batters out. Annabelle Widra earned the win after one inning of work in which she recorded a strikeout.
“We were hitting that ball in the air a lot and we need to get it down,” said Auburn head coach Mickey Dean. “It took us another two innings to make the adjustment. Aubrie (Lisenby) hits that ground ball and then all of a sudden we go on a little tear there. They switch pitchers and then all a sudden we can get the ball aloft and drive it. It was a nice adjustment by our hitters. I didn’t think we had a hit until the sixth inning, but we rose from there.”
The first game on Saturday was more of the same: dominant pitching from Penta.
In a complete seven-inning effort, Penta allowed no runs off of two hits and struck 15 batters out.
The Tigers had complete control of the game offensively.
Auburn fell just short in a thrilling end to the weekend.
Georgia Tech got out in front early. The Tigers were consistently able to trim the lead down but were never able to get over the hump.
Icess Tresvik and Anna Wohlers each had three hits. Four different Tigers each had two RBI.
“It was a great battle,” Dean said. “Georgia Tech is one of the best home run hitting teams in the country. That’s the kind of team that you can’t pitch from behind in a game. We were constantly 2-0 throughout the game, and that was the difference. Our offense kept battling. Our defense played well. We’ll learn from it and move on.”
Auburn is now 20-12-1 on the season and 3-9 in SEC play.
The Tigers return to action on Wednesday when they host the UAB Blazers at 6 p.m. CT. The television broadcast can be found on SEC Network+, and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be heard locally on WEGL 91.1 FM or streamed anywhere on the Auburn Athletics app.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.locke@1819news.com.
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