It had been over a month since Auburn softball had won three consecutive games. That was until Wednesday night when the Tigers grabbed a 4-1 victory over Georgia State in Atlanta.
Auburn has now won three in a row and four of its last five games, gaining momentum towards its upcoming series with No. 12 Kentucky.
"I thought we came out early and did a nice offensively," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We were just trying to manufacture some runs there. I thought their pitcher did a nice job. She attacked and started moving the ball."
Shelby Lowe pitched four innings, struck out five, allowed two hits and zero walks. Before she even stepped in the circle, the freshman had run support.
Makenna Dowell worked a leadoff walk to start the game, followed by a Tyler King single up the middle. Auburn's heads-up baserunning on the play allowed the two to move up an additional base, putting runners on second and third with no outs.
A couple of batters later, Lindsey Garcia grounded into a fielder's choice, which scored one run for a quick 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Garcia stole third and scored on a throwing error by Georgia State, promptly putting Auburn up 2-0.
In the third inning, another pair of runs crossed the plate for the Tigers. Kaylee Horton scored on a passed ball and King was the second run of the inning, scoring on Sydney Cox's single to right-center.
KK Dismukes relieved Lowe in the fifth inning and was taken deep by Georgia State's Skylar Mosel. Her sixth home run of the season put the Panthers on the board, but they still trailed 4-1.
Dismukes settled in after that, striking out a career-high six batters over the next three innings for her fourth save this season. She's now tied for sixth in saves in a season in Auburn history.
The Tigers will look to extend their win streak and win a second consecutive SEC series when they host Kentucky this weekend. The first pitch on Friday is set for 5 p.m. CST at Jane B. Moore Field.
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