On Friday, the No. 12 Missouri Tigers (19-2, 1-0 SEC) handed the No. 25 Auburn Tigers (12-3-1, 0-1 SEC) their first conference loss of the season – defending their home turf with a 5-2 win over Auburn.
“We played hard, but they outpitched and outhit us,” said head coach Mickey Dean. “We made two mistakes in the pitching circle, and they capitalized.”
In 26 at-bats, the Missouri Tigers put up five runs, eight hits – one double and two home runs – and five RBIs while the Auburn Tigers had two runs, two hits – one double – and two RBIs in 22 at-bats.
Mizzou got an early jump on Auburn with third baseman Kara Daly hitting a two-run homer to left field – sending center fielder Alex Honnold home to score – to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead at the bottom of the first.
Missouri head coach Larissa Anderson’s pitching staff held Auburn to six scoreless frames, but the Tigers struck in the fourth inning.
First baseman Amelia Lech got Auburn’s offense rolling with a double to left-center field, to score center fielder Makayla Packer – making it a 2-1 game. Following Lech’s lead, shortstop Nelia Peralta’s single got pinch runner Riley McNemar home to score – tying the game.
Going 1-for-3 at the plate, Lech led the Tigers’ offense with a double and one RBI, while Peralta added another RBI to the board.
However, Missouri shut down any hopes of a comeback for Auburn with catcher Julia Crenshaw’s three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth.
The Missouri Tigers’ RHP Laurin Krings carried the defense on her back, pitching seven innings and facing 25 total batters. Krings added nine strikeouts and two walks and allowed only two hits and two runs – earning her eighth win of the season.
The Auburn Tigers’ bullpen wasn’t as efficient in the pitching circle, collecting five strikeouts, one walk and one hit-by-pitch and allowing eight hits and five runs.
Right-handed pitcher Maddie Penta (6-3) started for Auburn and earned her third loss of the season in five innings pitched. Facing 24 total batters, Penta had four strikeouts, one hit-by-pitch and one walk while allowing six hits and five runs.
Making her SEC debut, RHP Malayna Tamborra relieved Penta in the fifth and pitched one inning. Facing four batters, Tamborra added one strikeout and allowed two hits to the stat sheet.
Auburn returns to Mizzou Softball Complex for game two, hoping to claim a win on Saturday, March 8, at 2 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
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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
