No. 18 Auburn defeated Alabama State 8-0 in run-rule fashion on Wednesday to conclude the regular season non-conference slate.
Sophomore Shelby Lowe earned the start and the win in the circle for Auburn. She pitched for three innings, only giving up three hits and collecting three strikeouts. The win improves her record to 9-3 on the year and stands as her first win since March 13 against Texas A&M.
Junior KK Dismukes then came on to pitch in relief of Lowe. Dismukes pitched the remaining two innings, giving up only one hit and collecting a strikeout to finalize the shutout.
The Tigers played good team ball early on and never conceded the lead. With sophomore Makayla Packer on second, freshman Jessie Blaine tripled to score the first Auburn run. Freshman Bri Ellis then hit a sacrifice fly to bring in the second run of the inning.
Missed opportunities haunted the Alabama State early in the contest, as it left a pair on after two singles in the first.The Hornets also led off the bottom of the second inning with a single, but the runner was caught stealing second base and the remaining batters were sat down in order.
Auburn tacked onto its lead in the top of the third inning. Packer rounded the bases for a solo, inside-the-park home run. After Blaine drew a walk to put her on first, a double by Ellis and an error on Alabama State allowed both runners to score, improving Auburn's advantage to 5-0.
The Tigers kept the ball rolling by continuing their hot offense into the top of the fifth inning. Junior Carlee McCondichie stood on third base after a couple of throwing errors. After Blaine walked once again, a double steal attempt scored McCondichie.
Ellis continued her offensive performance of the night by hitting a triple, scoring Blaine on her second extra-base hit of the contest. Freshman Rose Roach also reached on an error, which allowed Ellis to score the Tiger’s eighth run of the night.
In the fifth inning, Alabama State attempted to stave off the run-rule defeat with a batter being hit by a pitch and hitting a single with two outs. However, the batter who hit the single got too greedy and tried to take an extra base, only to eventually be tagged out to end the ball game. This sealed Auburn's run-rule victory.
Overall, only three of the eight runs scored for Auburn were earned. Alabama State kept piling on the defensive errors while leaving runners stranded on the base paths, allowing for no attempt at a comeback.
There were several players who had good offensive nights at the plate for the Tigers. Ellis went 2-for-2 with a double, a triple and a sac fly as well as two RBIs. She had an explosive night but came up just shy of a homer, leaving her one long ball shy of taking sole possession of Auburn's freshman home run record.
Also with notable performances, Packer went 1-for-1 with a home run as well as two walks and an RBI. Blaine also went 1-for-1 with a triple as well as two walks and an RBI.
With their second victory of the season over the in-state Hornets, the Tigers earned their 16th mercy-rule victory of the 2022 campaign and the pitching staff blanked their 12th opponent this season.
Next, the Tigers (37-10) will face No. 15 Georgia in the last home series of the regular season. Game one is set to start at 6 p.m. CST on Friday, April 29, and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @emilycporch
