It was as a slow game at Jane B. Moore Field between Auburn and Kennesaw State. There were struggles for both sides at the plate, along with solid defensive efforts from both sides resulted in a low scoring affair. Auburn's runs in the fifth and sixth inning were the only runs scored in consecutive innings in the entire game.
But all that mattered for Mickey Dean's Tigers at the end of a Wednesday evening on The Plains was that they managed to defeat Kennesaw State 4-2 to improve to 29-5 (5-1 SEC) on the season.
“I thought we had good innings,” Dean said. “We had good approaches. We scored enough to win the ball game, and defense and pitching did well enough to win the ball game.”
Both teams scored in the first, with Auburn taking the early 2-1 lead. Another run wasn’t scored until the fourth when Kennesaw State tied it up 2-2.
Auburn’s Aspyn Godwin was walked with loaded bases to put Auburn up 3-2 in the fifth, and Morgan Podany’s solo home run in the sixth sealed the deal for the 4-2 victory.
“I think this win was really important for us,” Podany said. “For us to be able to make adjustments… To put nine hits in one game, that was a good win for us.”
Podany’s homer was not the only highlight for a rather stagnant offense; Casey McCrackin finished with three hits, tying her Auburn career high. The Tigers finished with nine hits on the night out of a total 26 at-bats.
McCrackin now leads the SEC in hits with 45.
“It’s like that sometimes,” McCrackin said. “Softball, baseball, it’s a hard sport. Hitting is really hard. You just have to deal with the ups and downs.”
The defense was led out by pitcher Lexie Handley, but Ashlee Swindle took the circle in the fifth and ultimately got the win to improve to 7-3. Swindle finished with three strikeouts and only two hits allowed in three innings pitched. Handley pitched four innings and finished the night with one strikeout and six hits given up.
“I knew my defense had my back, I really wasn’t worried,” Swindle said. “I knew we were gonna win the ball game.”
Auburn’s next matchup will be a three-game series against Georgia. The first game is set to begin at 6 pm CST at Jane B. Moore Field on Friday.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
