Auburn closes out Leadoff Challenge with a bang

It only took five innings for Auburn to soundly defeat the Illinois Fighting Illini, a 10-0 to finish out the NFCA Leadoff Classic.

“I told the team that I didn’t care what the score was and that I didn’t care who won or loss,” said head coach Mickey Dean. “I just really liked our team today. I liked the way they were around each other and supported each other. We’re a good team. We can be a great team. That’s in our hands.”

With Maddie Penta (3-0) in the circle, it became apparent it was going to be a tough day for the Illini. Penta tossed nine strikeouts to close out the weekend, including striking out eight batters for the first eight outs of the game.

“Surprisingly, everything was working,” Penta said. “My rise ball and my drop ball, which is a new addition to my pitching arsenal, usually don’t work on the same day, but today, they both worked.”

Penta gave up just one walk and combined with Shelby Lowe for four shutouts throughout the weekend. Lowe finished out the fifth inning to finalize the shutout for the Tigers.

This was the first time these two programs had faced one another since February of 2020 in the Clearwater Classic. In that matchup, Auburn was shut out. Today, Auburn got revenge and decimated Illinois. 

The scoring began in the top of the second. New Auburn Tiger Annabella Widra got the scoring off and running with an RBI single. Soon after, Icess Tresvik got her first RBI as an Auburn Tiger. The inning concluded with four runs added to the board in favor of the Tigers. 

In the top of the third, Aspyn Godwin added her second home run of the young season to extend the lead to 6-0. Tresvik sent a ball into orbit for her first home run as an Auburn Tiger in the fourth inning. 

While all of this was happening, Penta was shutting down Illini left and right. Penta was dominate, only allowing two hits all game. The final runs of the contest came from Widra, as she cashed in her second home run as an Auburn Tiger. This game featured many of the new transfers of Auburn showing up and showing out. 

With this victory, Auburn concluded the tournament with a 4-1 record. Illinois dropped to 2-3 on the season. While Illinois will go play in the ACC/B1G Challenge in Atlanta against Louisville, Auburn will be hosting the Tiger Invitational. 

Teams from all across the country will be participating — Villanova, Dayton and Austin Peay University. All teams will face one another in this tournament. Auburn will open Friday at 3 p.m. against Austin Peay at Jane B. Moore Field, then it takes on Villanova at 5:30 p.m. CST that same day.