Tigers go 8-3 during break to bring SEC record to 7-4
Following a seven game winning streak, the Auburn softball team was swept last weekend in a three-game series against division leader LSU.
The series opened with 10th-ranked LSU winning a double header last Friday, 8-1 in the first game and 5-3 in the second.
Saturday’s game, lasting only six innings, was a three-hit shutout bringing LSU to a 10-0 victory over Auburn.
Auburn dropped to 27-7 overall and 7-4 in the SEC and was swept for the first time this season.
LSU improved to 27-4 overall and continued a perfect 6-0 in the SEC.
Starting pitcher Lauren Schmalz, a freshman from Pembroke Pines, Fla., took a loss for Auburn, falling to 4-1 on the season.
Schmalz allowed four runs on seven hits with one strikeout before being replaced by Brittany Day, a senior from Columbus, Ga.
Day lasted through the end of the third inning, giving up three unearned runs on one hit and three walks.
Closer Angel Bunner, a freshman from Fairless Hills, Pa., allowed three runs from one hit and a walk.
Auburn head coach Tina Deese had high hopes for the series, but acknowledged LSU as a tough competitor.
“LSU is an excellent team,” Deese said. “They are playing very well and this is going to be tremendous challenge for our team. We hit the ball extremely well against Arkansas and that was good to see. Hopefully we will be able to carry that into this weekend.”
Catcher and first basemen Jorja Bell, a senior from Auckland, New Zealand, said losing to LSU did have its benefits.
“Obviously we’re really disappointed,” Bell said. “However, I think it was a really good learning experience for the team, especially for some of the younger members.”
The sweep came as a shock for Auburn, which won two consecutive SEC series last week.
During spring break on March 16, the Tigers completed a sweep of the Ole Miss Rebels in a three-game series in Oxford.
Auburn won Friday 3-1 in the first game and 5-0 in the second.
Last Saturday’s 11-inning victory was the longest game the Tigers had played since 2000 when Auburn beat Florida State 5-4.
The series loss dropped the Rebels to 14-11 overall and 0-6 in conference play.
Day had a strong performance with nine strikeouts in five and one-third innings.
Bunner closed the game nearly perfect, as she struck out three of four patters and allowed no hits.
Deese was ejected from the game in the bottom of the fifth inning for arguing with an umpire.
Deese was positive about the following Arkansas series.
“This is a great match up,” Deese said. “Arkansas is a good hitting team, and they are really swinging the bats well. We are throwing the ball really well, so we are going to have to be that much better against them.”
The Tigers continued with their success, winning both games of a double-header against Arkansas in Auburn on March 18.
Auburn beat the Razorbacks 9-6 and 5-3. Arkansas finished the series with a 21-11 overall record and 1-7 in the SEC.
Auburn played a double header at Mercer Tuesday, but those games were not completed in time for this edition.
The Tigers will take on the Tennessee Volunteers in a three-game series this weekend in Auburn.
After that, the team’s next SEC opponent will be against the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C., in another three-game series.
