Auburn played host to the Samford Bulldogs on Wednesday night at Jane B. Moore Field and used a complete performance to defeat the Bulldogs 8-0.
The Tigers used three pitchers to record the first combined perfect game in program history.
Maddie Penta got the start in the circle with Shelby Lowe and Annabelle Widra following. They combined for 10 strikeouts and only saw 15 Bulldog batters on the night.
“They hit their spots really nice tonight. I mean, you think about it, five innings we threw 65 pitches. That’s really effective work right there,” said Auburn head coach Mickey Dean.
At the plate, the Tigers strung together timely hits with runners in scoring position. Amelia Lech got things going in the first inning with a three-run home run. Nelia Peralta and Makayla Packer both drew walks to get on base before the Lech home run.
KK McCrary kept things rolling for Auburn in the bottom of the second inning with a deep home run to center field. She has now homered in the last three games.
“Well we talked with our coaches and just, you know, we were struggling at the plate a little bit earlier in the season. We’ve done a lot more machine work and getting in there and just really taking the ball where it needs to go. We were pulling pitches that weren’t needing to be pulled and so we’re just kind of buying into what our coaches have been doing in practice this week,” McCrary said on the offensive performance.
Peralta continued the Tigers' scoring run in the second inning with a double to right-center field, scoring Packer, who reached on a hit-by-pitch, all the way from first base.
In the bottom of the third inning with Anna Wohlers and McCrary both in scoring position, Packer hit a triple off the left-field wall to score both Tiger baserunners.
All of the Tigers' third inning runs came with two outs in the inning.
“I think we saw four different pitchers, or three different pitchers. They were all three very different and you know, so we just did well. I think I told somebody before the game we were probably going to see two, three, four pitchers and the big thing was we were able to make adjustments throughout the game. We did a really nice job,” Dean said.
The Tigers will take a break from SEC play this weekend as Louisiana Tech and Georgia Tech come to Jane B. Moore Field for a doubleheader on Friday, March 5 with the first game starting at 2 p.m CST.
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Logan Fowler is a junior from Sumiton, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in Spring 2024.
