The Auburn Tigers could not keep up with No. 4 Tennessee's hot hitting in Friday’s series opener, falling 5-1 to the Lady Volunteers.
The Lady Volunteers hit three home runs on Friday night, accounting for four of their five runs.
After a hitless first inning that saw Auburn’s ace Maddie Penta walk the Lady Vols' leadoff batter and end the inning with a strikeout, Penta gave up a two-run home run in the top of the second inning.
With one out, Tennessee catcher Sophia Nugent homered to left field on a 3-2 pitch, sending Taylor Pannell home. Nugent hit a second home run in the sixth inning with two outs to give the Lady Vols a 4-1 lead over the Tigers. Nugent’s two home runs were her first in SEC play.
Tennessee’s third home run also came in the sixth inning from Rylie West, who led off the inning and homered on a 3-2 pitch. The Lady Vols finished the sixth inning with two runs and two hits.
With Auburn’s loss, Penta moves to 8-6 on the season and picks up just her fourth loss at home. The Tigers' first ever SEC Pitcher of the Year holds a 20-4 record at Jane B. Moore Field.
Penta finished the night giving up six hits and four runs while striking out five batters and walking three.
Annabelle Widra closed out in the circle for Auburn, giving up one hit and one run in the top of the seventh on a single through the left side by Tennessee that resulted in an unearned run for the Lady Vols. Widra finished the night with zero strikeouts and one walk.
Karlyn Pickens started in the circle for the Lady Vols where she pitched three innings. Pickens struck out two players, walked two, and gave up one hit and one earned run on a walk.
The Tigers' only run of the contest came in the third inning. With the bases loaded with two outs, Nelia Peralta was hit by a pitch to send Anna Wohlers home and give Auburn its only run of the game.
Auburn managed one run and four hits while leaving eight runners on base but were unable to keep up with the Volunteers offensively.
“You can't store unless you get people on base,” said Auburn head coach Mickey Dean. “We're putting people on base and now we have to come through with some hits or, you know, force them to make some tough defensive plays where we end up scoring runs. That's part of it.”
Payton Gottshall –12-2 on the season with a 0.94 earned run average – finished in the circle for Tennessee. Gottshall pitched four innings where she allowed three hits while striking out three batters and giving up no walks.
Despite an effort to come back in the seventh inning, putting Aubrie Lisenby in scoring position with one out and Wohlers on first, Auburn was unable to capitalize on its efforts as it ended the contest with back-to-back outs.
Looking to bounce back in the series, Auburn faces Tennessee again tomorrow at Jane B. Moore field for game two of the series. First pitch is at 4 p.m. CST and will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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Grace Heim is a junior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in English Literature. She started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
