CLEARWATER, Fla. – After defeating Virginia on a thrilling walkoff walk in the eighth inning earlier in the day, Auburn softball (8-0) faced off against UCF for the first time since the 3 a.m. thriller in the regionals last year for their third outing of the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational. Auburn survived an early barrage of strikeouts to top UCF 1-0.
The early innings were characterized by defense. Auburn turned a double play with a runner in scoring position in the first. Samantha Rey was thrown out by catcher Kylie Brockman as she tried to steal the bag at third. On the other side, it was Knights starting pitcher, Yessenia Lopez, who served up 6 strikeouts in the first three innings, keeping the Tigers not only scoreless but hitless as well.
Anna Wohlers finally got a hit for the Tigers in the bottom of the fourth with a ground rule double. KK McCrary knocked a RBI single up the middle to finally open up the scoring and break the scoreless tie, 1-0. Despite a couple scares and an offense from UCF that just would not give up, Auburn’s defense shut the door on every opportunity to score the equalizing run including a clutch double play in the top of the sixth and a game clinching runner’s interference call in the top of the seventh. The Tigers kept themselves undefeated, finishing the UCF Knights off, 1-0.
SJ Geurin was great in her start for Auburn, allowing no runs on six hits and two strikeouts in a complete seven innings of work for the Tigers. Her efforts earned her a fourth win already on the campaign while also avoiding her first loss of the year. The lone run of course came off of the bat of KK McCrary, who went 1-3 with the winning RBI.
Auburn softball tries to extend their winning streak to nine and ten tomorrow as they match up with two more teams in the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational. They face the Charlotte 49ers at 12 p.m. CST and number 9 Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. CST. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be listened to right here on WEGL 91.1 FM.
