The No. 25 Auburn Tigers continued their journey through the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico with victories over UC Davis and No. 13 Utah, defeating the Aggies 6-3 and the Utes 1-0.
“What a great team win,” said head coach Mickey Dean. “You have no idea how proud I am of this team. They stuck together. It wasn’t smooth, but the work we did throughout the day enabled us to win.”
After starting the tournament with an 8-6 win over Wichita State on Wednesday, Auburn was eager to begin its doubleheader on Thursday, Feb. 15. The Tigers’ veteran pitchers and position players helped Auburn solidify its second and third wins of the PV Challenge.
UC Davis
Auburn started its day off against the Aggies with Shelby Lowe on the mound. Lowe got her first win of the season with her stellar performance. The senior, left-handed pitcher pitched five innings, allowing only five hits and two runs, accompanied by five strikeouts.
Annabelle Widra relieved Lowe to pitch the final two innings. Earning her first save, Widra allowed four hits, one run and one walk alongside four strikeouts.
The Tigers’ offense made quick work in the first inning, with junior Amelia Lech hitting a grand slam.
The Aggies finally got on the board with three runs in the sixth, making it a one-run game, but Lech struck again with a two-run homer to secure Auburn’s 6-3 victory. The first baseman carried the team’s offense with her two runs, two hits and six RBIs in her three at-bats.
Utah
With an electric start to the day, the Tigers had an hour to collect themselves for their next opponent, the Utah Utes.
Auburn and Utah were a match made in heaven, with each team matching the other's offense and defense, keeping it scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning.
Starting pitchers Maddie Penta and Mariah Lopez dueled through seven ruthless innings. Collectively, the duo scattered 14 hits – all singles – and stranded 16 baserunners until the seventh, when Lopez walked Makayla Packer with two outs on the board, leading KK McCrary home.
Penta’s five strikeouts, six hits and no runs in seven innings pitched and 30 batters faced earned the right-handed pitcher her second win of the season and her 62nd win of her Auburn career.
After playing Wednesday and Thursday, Auburn will take Friday off to prepare for its final matchup of the tournament: the No. 8 Clemson Tigers. Auburn and Clemson’s match will start at 3 p.m. CST and will be streamed on FloSoftball.
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Caitlyn Griffin is a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in journalism. She started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @caitlyngrif99
