AUBURN – The No. 25 Auburn Tigers hosted the Jane. B Moore Memorial this weekend and ended up with a sweep.
The Tigers picked up wins over Northwestern, USC Upstate and North Texas.
After Friday's games were rained out, Auburn opened up the weekend with a 1-0 win over Northwestern on Saturday. Thalia Martin scored the game's only run when Aubrie Lisenby reached on an error.
Maddie Penta threw seven scoreless innings in which she allowed only four hits and struck out 10 batters.
The Tigers continued their good play on Saturday with a 10-4 win over USC Upstate. The Tigers scored runs consistently throughout the game.
Shelby Lowe got the start for Auburn but struggled. Annabelle Widra took over and allowed just one run in the last six innings.
“Just a phenomenal job in the circle from both Maddie (Penta) and Annabelle (Widra),” said head coach Mickey Dean. “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.”
Penta had another solid performance in the circle. She struck out 11 batters and allowed two hits in six innings.
Auburn's final game of the weekend was an 8-4 win over USC Upstate. The Tigers needed a late comeback to put this one away.
A grand slam home run by Makayla Packer in the bottom of the seventh inning allowed Auburn to walk it off.
“That was fun,” Dean said. “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.”
Auburn is now 12-2-1 on the season.
The Tigers return to action on Tuesday when they host the Troy Trojans at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game will be live-streamed on SEC Network+, and the Auburn Sports Network broadcast can be 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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