The No. 18 Auburn Tigers hosted the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at Jane B. Moore Field tonight. Auburn came into this contest after winning both games in a two-game set against Niagara. Jacksonville State came into this game after winning two out of three games against Lipscomb in Nashville over the weekend.
Maddie Penta got the start for Auburn tonight, Sarah Currie got it for Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks got things started offensively, as Megan Fortner hit a home run in the top of the second inning. It was all Auburn from that point on. The Tigers scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning as Aspyn Godwin hit a home run that scored her and Carlee McCondichie; and Kelsey Schmidt tagged-up on a flyout by Lindsey Garcia. No one scored in the third inning. Auburn tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to give them a 9-1 lead. KK Dismukes came in to pitch for Auburn in the top of the fifth inning. She kept Jacksonville State from scoring and nailed down the run-rule win for the Tigers.
Head coach Mickey Dean commented on the home run Maddie Penta gave up early in the game. He said, “It fired her up a little bit. She had a good game against them earlier in the season. It is difficult to pitch well against the same team twice." When asked about freshman Bri Ellis’ great play this season, Dean said, “Expected isn’t the right word, but not surprising.”
Auburn will be back in action at home tomorrow night against Chattanooga. First pitch is at 4:00 PM.
