In Maddie Penta’s first start since March 21, Auburn fell to Arkansas 6-1 Thursday at Jane B. Moore Field.
Penta returned to the circle for the first time since pitching 1.2 innings against Kennesaw State on March 21. The freshman pitcher did not see any action against Missouri last weekend after having a “slight pull,” according to head coach Mickey Dean.
Penta pitched four innings in her first start back, allowing one hit, one earned run, one unearned run, two walks and struck one out.
Dean knew that Arkansas was expecting Shelby Lowe to start on Thursday and gave Penta the start instead so that Auburn matched up better with Arkansas’ batters.
“I knew Maddie was going to be limited on the number of pitches,” Dean said. “I knew that even before I started her today or made that decision. So when we reached that point, that’s when I made the decision to take her out.”
Through the first three innings, Penta kept Arkansas’ batters at bay as the game remained scoreless. The Razorbacks broke the tie in the top of the fourth with runners on first and second with two outs.
Arkansas’ Aly Manzo singled to drive in the first run. The Razorbacks’ next batter did not have to do anything as Arkansas scored its second run off a wild pitch that advanced the runners, followed up by a throwing error to third.
In the top of the fifth, Samantha Yarbrough came in as relief for Penta. Despite the early exit due to the pitch limit, Dean was overall happy with his starter.
“I thought she did a nice job,” Dean said. “She gave us a chance. She held them down for a while, but she reached 70 pitches, and it’s my job as a coach to notice when something physically might be going on and make the change so that she’s ready for the next outing. You just don’t want to overdo it.”
After a leadoff hit-by-pitch, Yarbrough gave up back-to-back singles, which scored Arkansas’ third run of the evening.
KK Dismukes replaced Yarbrough that same inning with runners on the corner and with no outs. Dismukes came in and gave up a three-run home run to give Arkansas a 6-0 lead.
Dismukes finished the game out for the Tigers and pitched three innings in relief, allowing only two hits, one run, one walk and struck out four.
In the bottom of the seventh, Auburn got on the board following an Alyssa Rivera single to score Makayla Packer from second with two outs. The Tigers had two hits in the seventh inning and three total for the entire game.
Auburn will be back in action at Jane B. Moore Field Friday for the second game in a three-game series. The first pitch on Friday is set for noon CST, with the game airing on SEC Network.
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Jake Weese, senior in journalism with a minor in history, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
