Auburn, Ala—The Auburn Tigers open the War Eagle Classic with wins over the Louisianna Tech Bulldogs and the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. Against the Bulldogs the Tigers won 9-1 in five innings and against the Yellowjackets the Tigers had an impressive sixth-inning comeback to win the game 4-3.
“It’s because we are really learning how to play the game one pitch at a time,” Head Coach Mickey Dean said, “I want us to become one-pitch warriors.”
The two games the Tigers played today highlight the difference when you play one pitch at a time compared to when you don’t. Against the Bulldogs, the Tigers scored nine runs, six of which were in the fifth inning and the offense was on point, but in the second game, the Tigers didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning and scored all their runs in the sixth inning.
The highlight of the first game was when Anna Wohlers and KK McCrary hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning, to kick off a run of Auburn scoring eventually leading the Tigers to win by the Run-Ahead-Rule.
After the game Head Coach Dean said, “We put it away in the fifth,” and the Tigers certainly did, and it was like the back-to-back home runs gave the Tigers the push to put the game away.
Against Georgia Tech though, the Tigers struggled offensively, and Maddie Penta had a rough first inning which had Auburn down by three runs, until the bottom of the sixth inning.
Mariah Penta said, “We knew that nobody out there was working their butt off, so we needed to get our butts in gear, and we were able to do that.”
The Tigers were certainly able to get back in the game and it started when Aubrie Lisenby had Auburn’s first hit of the Georgia Tech game in the fifth inning, and though it did not result in a run for Auburn, it gave them the energy they needed.
The sixth inning though was when the magic happened for the Tigers. Packer and Peralta both hit singles in the beginning of the sixth and then Tresvik hit a single to send Packer to Homeplate. Then Lech hit a double and Smith, who pinch-ran for Peralta, and Tresvik scored runs tying the game.
Amelia Lech said, “It felt really good, and I was just glad that I can do it for my teammates.” Lech’s double allowed the Tigers to tie the game, and you could just feel the momentum shift and the atmosphere within the stadium was electric.
The Tigers took the lead when Mariah Penta hit the second double of the game, and Martin, who pinch-ran for Lech, scored the go-ahead run for the Tigers, but it was still a one-run game.
Auburn Head Coach Mickey Dean, then made a gutsy call and put Maddie Penta back in as pitcher to close out the game for the Tigers, and she did.
“We’re able to make those adjustments on the fly,” Mickey Dean said, “After that first inning she was able to make that adjustment to nine strikeouts.”
Though the game against the Bulldogs ended with the Tigers scoring run after running, the game against the Yellow Jackets was a fight to the finish with the Tigers fighting until the very end to come out on top.
The War Eagle Classic is not over yet, and Auburn faces Louisianna Tech at 1:00 pm CT and Georgia Tech at 4:00 pm CT on Saturday, April 6, on Jane B Moore Field. The games can be found on both the SEC Network+ and WEGL 91.1FM.
