Auburn softball bounced back after Saturday’s loss to clinch a series victory against Ole Miss, defeating the Rebels 1-0 Sunday in a defensive battle.
The bats did not see much action as the Tigers and the Rebels combined for three total hits in Monday’s contest. Auburn maintained a one-run lead for most of the game despite its first hit, a single from Aubrie Lisenby, coming in the bottom of the sixth inning.
After Nelia Peralta took her second walk of the game in the third inning, she was pinch-ran for by Abbey Smith. A pair of steals put Smith on third base, with Auburn threatening to score the game's first run.
“I just knew that whenever he puts me in that, my job is to steal bases and do what I do and not try and think too much,” Smith said. “Once I got the steal sign, I knew all that I had to do was get there and leave on time, and once the ball got away, I knew I could make it to third.”
Lisenby followed the base swiping with a walk, prompting the setup for the game's only run. Once she reached first base, she took off toward second, distracting the catcher and allowing Smith to reach home before Lisenby was tagged out in an attempt to return to first base.
“Coach (Eugene) Lenti saw something, and coach (Emily) Carosone, they both looked at each other, and they called the play,” said head coach Mickey Dean. “We continued onto second base, and then it’s up to the third baserunner to read that, and so if they go for that runner at second, the thirdbase runner has to read that, and the first baserunner has to get in a run down.”
The trickery by the Tigers gave them a lead they managed to hold onto for the remainder of the game.
Emotions ran high for starting pitcher Maddie Penta as she held off the Rebels, preventing any runs from coming across with the help of her defense.
“I think this is a game that shows us that we can come back from a loss anytime. You know, we lost yesterday fair and square. They just beat us,” Penta said. “It just shows us as a team that we can show up any given day and take a win from any team, and I think as long as we carry that through the rest of the year, we will be good.”
Penta earned her 16th win, finishing the game with seven innings pitched, two hits, zero runs, two walks and eight strikeouts to capture the team's 16th shutout this season.
After dropping their first SEC series of the year to Georgia, the Tigers have captured two straight SEC series, improving to 28-10 on the season and 6-3 in SEC play.
Auburn continues SEC play as it travels to Gainesville, Florida, to take on Florida (26-9, 4-5 SEC) for a three-game series Thursday, April 6th. The first pitch will be at 5 p.m. CST, broadcasted on SEC Network+.
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Craig Noyes is a junior from Kensington, Maryland, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2023.
Twitter: @craignoyes58
