No 25 Auburn defeated No 12 Missouri 4-0 Sunday at Missouri Softball Complex to get its first SEC victory of the season.
Maddie Penta’s historic day on the mound led the Auburn defense with Amelia Lech leading the Auburn offense in an all-around team victory. This win spoiled the Missouri sweep and handed the Tigers only their third loss of the season.
This win marked Penta’s 67th of her historic career which ties Kaylee Carlson for the most in Auburn history. The win also marked Penta’s 19th shutout win of her career which moves her to sole possession of third in program history.
On the day, Penta pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven batters and only allowing four hits and one walk. Penta continues her historic campaign, moving her record to 7-3 on the season with an impressive 1.03 ERA.
“We did a nice job of making adjustments at the plate,” said head coach Mikey Dean. “Our defense played sharp. Maddie hit her spots. We had a good game plan that everyone was able to stick with. It ended up being a great day.”
The offense picked up to help out the pitching, logging 10 hits, two home runs and only six strikeouts. Lech led the Tigers with a 2-for-3 day at the plate with both home runs and three RBIs.
Anna Wohlers and Abbey Smith also went 2-for-3 at the plate with Wohlers grabbing a double. Makayla Packer hit an early RBI triple that gave Auburn the lead and moved her into a tie with Sara Dean for most triples in program history with eight.
After failing to score in the first two innings, Smith beat out an infield single to start the third inning. After stealing second base, Packer drove in the first run of the game with her triple to left field. Lech opened the fourth inning with her first home run of the game to welcome reliever Marissa McCann to the game and extend the Auburn lead.
Auburn’s offense continued to role in the sixth after Wohlers led off with a double. Lech brought her home with her second home run of the contest to make the game 4-0. The homers are Lech’s sixth and seventh of the season and marked only her second career multi-home run game.
The victory was a total team win which was a change from the first two games of the series. Auburn struggled to gain any offense in Saturday’s game and was unable to stop the Missouri offense in either game, letting up a total of 10 runs in the first two games.
This win moves Auburn to 13-4-1 on the season and 1-2 in SEC play as the Tigers return to Jane B. Moore Field. Next, Auburn hosts No 18 Arkansas in a three-game series, its second versus top-20 teams. The series opener is set for Friday at 5 p.m. CST on the SEC Network+.
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Luke McClure is a junior from Huntsville, Alabama, majoring in sports production. He joined The Plainsman in fall 2023.
Twitter: @lukemcclure0
