The No. 19 Auburn Tigers (15-1) start a five game weekend at the Jane B. Moore Memorial Tournament on Friday, March 1, facing off against the Bowling Green State Falcons (5-9) the South Alabama Jaguars (9-6), and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (1-10)
Auburn: The red hot Tigers look to keep rolling after winning all of their six games last week, outscoring their opponents 51-1. Sophomore Bri Ellis, was named the Louisville Slugger NFCA Player of the Week, as well as being named SEC Player of the Week. Ellis went 10-for-14 at the dish, hitting four home runs and three doubles. Ellis also scored seven times and had 11 runs batted in.
Senior Carlee McCondichie, extended her hitting streak to 13 games last time out, with a double in the 4-0 victory over North Dakota State. Not only did Auburn excel offensively last week, they looked polished defensively as well.
Auburn’s pitching staff let up only 11 hits while striking out 48 last week. Junior Maddie Penta, threw a combined 12 shutout innings last week, allowing just two hits while striking out 14. Sophomore Annabelle Widra, allowed just four hits and struck out 17 batters over 11 innings of work.
The Tiger’s pitching staff have their opponents batting average at just .157 and a team ERA of 0.86 on the season.
Bowling Green: The Falcons look to bounce back after dropping their last game at Evansville 10-9. Junior Sophie Weber, has notched a hit in 12 of the Falcon’s 14 games and is hitting for a remarkable .372 average. Weber is also the only Falcon to start in each of their 14 games.
Freshman Katie Hutter, leads this Bowling Green squad in batting average hitting .381 and is tied for the team lead of seven runs batted in. The Falcons will need production from these two players if they are looking to come out with a couple of wins on the plains.
The pitching staff for Bowling Green is headlined by Sophomore Scarlet Anderson. Anderson has appeared in 5 games on the mound this year and has an impressive 4-0 win-loss record and an ERA of 2.49.
Senior Hannah Davies, is the workhorse for this rotation throwing 39.2 of the Falcons 92 innings. The senior had a rough outing last time out allowing six runs on five hits and five walks in just four and a third innings. Davies looks to get herself her first win this weekend.
South Alabama: The Jaguars look to win their third straight against Tennessee Tech before taking on Auburn this Friday. The Jaguars went 3-2 at their own South Alabama Invitational last weekend. Last time out, Olivia Lackie, dominated on the mound throwing a complete-game shutout against Louisiana Tech, striking out 14 in the process. Lackie has struck out 59 batters in 45 innings of work this season.
Senior Jenna Hardy, has also been dominant on the mound this season. Hardy holds a 1.61 ERA over 52.1 innings of work. These two pitchers have been a phenomenal one-two punch for the Jaguars.
Offensively, South Alabama is led by sophomore Gabby Stagner. Stagner has started all 15 games for the Jaguars and is hitting for an average of .333, while recording 5 doubles and a homerun.
The Jaguars have shown to be threats on the base paths going 18-for-20 on stolen base attempts this year. Senior Mackenzie Brasher, leads the team with six.
Tennessee Tech: The Golden Eagles are hoping for a different result this tournament, as they went winless in the Mercer Bear Invitational. The Golden Eagles are on a current four-game skid, being outscored 51-5 in that span.
Tennessee Tech’s offense is led by sophomore Abby Shoulders. Shoulders, a transfer from Middle Tennessee, has hit for an average of .370 while knocking in six runs. In her 27 at-bats, Shoulders has yet to strike out.
The pitching rotation is where the Golden Eagles struggle the most. As a team, Tennessee Tech has an ERA of 10.28. Between the four pitchers who have taken the mound for them, graduate student Callie Piper, has the lowest ERA of 8.72.
The biggest struggle for this pitching staff is allowing free bases. They have allowed 57 walks this year compared to their 26 strikeouts. If the Golden Eagles want to compete this weekend, they will need to take a step up both offensively and defensively.
