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A spirit that is not afraid

Auburn softball takes series opener over No. 7 Florida

Jesse Blaine and the Auburn softball team celebrates after her succesful homerun against South Carolina 3/19/22
Jesse Blaine and the Auburn softball team celebrates after her succesful homerun against South Carolina 3/19/22

Auburn softball starts off its weekend series against Florida by earning the first win over the No. 7 Gators since 2019. The No. 17 Tigers got half the work done on night one, winning 3-1 to open the three-game series. 

Taking the win, Maddie Penta worked for 6.1 innings, finished with seven strikeouts and five hits. Once Penta's count got high, Lowe came in, pitching 0.2 innings. Her night ended with two strikeouts and no runs. 

"I just aged 10 years. That was two great pitchers going at it right there, and even three when we brought Shelby (Lowe) into the game,” said Auburn head coach Mickey Dean. “We got two pitches that we were able to send out of the park, and that was the difference in the game.”

Things went scoreless through the third, with scattered hits but no true offense for either team. In the bottom of the third, Auburn went scoreless but the bats started to get warm as the team got closer to snagging a lead. 

Sydney Cox was walked, with Abbey Smith coming in as the pinch runner. Carlee McCondichie then singled to advance Smith to second. Next up, Makayla Packer singled on a bunt to load the bases, but the next three batters collected three outs to close the inning. 

Florida was unsuccessful again in the fourth, but Auburn finally capitalized on the offensive side. Bri Ellis fouled out in left field, but after, Aubrie Lisenby walked and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Up next, Aspyn Godwin homered to left center field, scoring Auburn’s first two runs of the day. 

In the top of the fifth, Penta continued to shutout the Gators. In the bottom, Nelia Peralta also continued to do her thing: hitting home runs. Peralta’s seventh homer of the season came in the bottom of the fifth, scoring no other runners but giving Auburn a secure 3-0 lead. 

“I love these kids. They work hard, and I appreciate all the work they put in,” Dean said. “It's one game, but they worked hard this week and listened to the talks we'd had. It paid off." 

Only in the sixth did Penta give something up. Florida’s first batter Hannah Adams singled, with the next, Charla Echols, being hit by a pitch. The pair advanced to third and second, respectively, on a wild pitch. Cheyenne Lindsey flied out to right field, scoring Adams and getting Florida on the board. 

The Auburn bats hit a cool spell and the Tigers left the sixth with no added runs. In the top of the seventh, an out followed by a pair of singles signaled the end of the night for Penta. Shelby Lowe followed in relief, allowing her first batter to single and load the bases.

With the game on the line, Lowe retired the next two batters. Both Echols and Adams struck out swinging to give Auburn the win. 

Auburn hits the field again Saturday at 2 p.m. CST in hopes of winning the series. The Tigers currently sit at 29-4 on the season and 7-3 in the SEC. 


Callie Stanford | Sports Editor

Callie Stanford, junior in communications, is the sports editor at the Auburn Plainsman. Currently a junior, she has been with The Plainsman since January 2021.

Twitter: @Stanford1Callie


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