Auburn softball went undefeated in this past weekend’s Tiger Invite at Jane B. Moore Field. The Tigers played Jacksonville, Murray State and IUPUI in a five-game stretch across three days.
Auburn began the Tiger Invite with a 2-0 win over Jacksonville on Thursday night. Tyler King and Makayla Packer each had RBI triples to propel Auburn to the victory. Freshman Maddie Penta earned her fourth win and second shutout of the season, striking out 10 batters and allowing four hits.
On Friday, Auburn took on Murray State in a doubleheader. In game one, the Tigers defeated the Racers 1-0 behind a one-hit shutout by freshman pitcher Shelby Lowe. Lowe also had a career high 12 strikeouts and retired 20 straight batters in her second win of the season. Auburn scored the lone run of the game on an RBI double by Aspyn Godwin.
In game two, Auburn defeated Murray State 3-1. The Tigers plated its three runs on RBI singles by Lindsey Garcia and Makenna Dowell and Kelsey Schmidt scoring on a wild pitch. Lexie Handley earned her first win of the season after striking out five and allowing one run and five hits in 5.1 innings pitched. KK Dismukes picked up her second save of the season, striking out two in 1.2 innings.
On Saturday, Auburn swept IUPUI in the doubleheader with 5-0 wins in both games. In game one, Penta had her second no-hitter of the season and struck out 16 consecutive batters. Penta finished the game with a career high 17 strikeouts, the second most in a single game in program history. Godwin went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, including a solo home run and a triple. Garcia added an RBI groundout for the Tigers.
In game two, Lowe struck out five and allowed two hits in three innings pitched. Samantha Yarbrough earned her first win of the season with six strikeouts, one hit allowed and five walks in three innings of relief. Dismukes struck out two in the final inning of the game. Packer hit a grand slam to centerfield for Auburn in the third inning and Garcia had an RBI flyout later in the inning.
Auburn improves to 10-1 on the season after going 5-0 in the Tiger Invite. The Tigers return to action when it hosts Troy, Southern Miss and Southeastern Louisiana in the Auburn Invitational. Auburn will play five games in the invitational, beginning with Troy on Thursday at 5 p.m. CT at Jane B. Moore Field.
