Auburn softball avoided the sweep against No. 4 Tennessee and snapped its six-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory in the series finale.
Not only did the Tigers snap a six-game losing streak, but they also snapped an eight-game losing streak to Tennessee – dating back to the 2019 SEC Tournament.
In a near polar opposite game compared to the Saturday contest between the two teams, the rubber match between Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens, who boasted a 0.59 ERA before this contest, faced off against Auburn’s Maddie Penta with a 1.87 ERA. Both showed signs of dominance throughout and held things low-scoring.
Auburn struck first in the bottom of the first inning after a hit by pitch. Then, KK McCrary notched the first hit of the day for Auburn with a bunt single. Nelia Peralta walked to bring the bases loaded, and an Icess Tresvik ground ball forced an error and put the Tigers in front 2-0.
The Tigers' next hit didn’t come until the bottom of the sixth inning, which allowed Tennessee to hang around and gave the Lady Vols a chance to cut the deficit in half in the top of the fourth inning as a pair of singles brought Tennessee within one run.
Auburn found clutch hitting when it needed it the most in the bottom of the sixth inning when Makayla Packer opened the frame with a double down the right-field line. The Tigers finally broke their four-inning drought of hits and got some insurance runs with a Peralta triple to make it 3-1 and an Amelia Lech double to give Auburn a comfortable three-run lead.
Tennessee did not go down without a fight. It put pressure on Penta early with a lead-off double. She bounced back with a strikeout for the first out and got some help from her defense after Tennessee tried to stretch a single into extra bases. Tresvik threw out the runner at second base.
“Icess came up throwing, and that was absolutely fantastic,” Penta said. “It took a lot of pressure off my shoulders... We practice that every day, and they did a great job.”
A pop fly to right field stranded a runner on third base and gave Auburn a much-needed ranked win.
“I told them we are going to figure it out, we will figure it out,” said head coach Mickey Dean. “The only way that you lose or fail is if you quit.”
The Tigers look to continue their win streak with six games left in their home stand as they receive a break from conference play and gear up for the War Eagle Classic tournament next week.
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Craig Noyes is a junior from Kensington, Maryland, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2023.
Twitter: @craignoyes58
