Friday afternoon marks the beginning of the two-day War Eagle Classic in which Auburn will host Louisiana Tech and Georgia Tech at Jane B. Moore Field.
The Tigers (17-11-1) are coming off a shutout win over in-state opponent Samford on Wednesday and a big win against No. 4 Tennessee last weekend. The win against Samford marked the fourth perfect game in program history while the win against Tennessee was Auburn’s first over a top-five opponent since 2019.
Maddie Penta continues to lead the Tigers, dominating in the circle with a 1.77 ERA. Against Samford, Penta earned the win, making her season record 10-6, and struck out five of the nine batters she faced.
On the offensive end, transfers Anna Wohlers and Amelia Lech have become key contributors. Wohlers leads the team in hits with 24 along with 12 RBIs and three home runs. Lech, with a three-run blast in her first at-bat against Samford, leads the Tigers with 26 RBIs and nine home runs on the season.
Makayla Packer is also proving to be a powerhouse at the plate. Packer hit the 10th triple of her career against Samford — now just one away from tying Tiffany Howard for the Auburn program record.
Louisiana Tech (23-9) is coming off a tough weekend in Lynchburg, Virginia, which resulted in a series sweep. The Bulldogs' offense could not get it going, scoring zero runs the entire weekend, as Liberty’s Kaylan Yoder threw two complete game shutouts.
Nicole Hammoude leads the Bulldogs' offense with 24 RBIs and three home runs this season. Alexis Gilio is also a strong force at the plate with a .394 batting average, 37 hits and 20 runs.
Georgia Tech (24-14) is coming off a 2-1 series loss at Syracuse and a five-run win against Troy in the midweek.
The Yellow Jackets have stacked up 64 home runs this season which is the fourth most in Division I behind Miami (OH), Virginia Tech and Oklahoma. Wednesday’s win against Troy marked their 13th game with three or more home runs this season.
The offense is led by Madison Dobbins who leads the ACC and is 10th in the country with 47 RBIs. Dobbins also has stacked up 35 hits and 13 home runs. Mallorie Black is right behind her with 43 RBIs, 43 hits and 12 home runs on the year.
The first pitch of the weekend will take place at 2 p.m. CST on Friday, April 5 as Auburn takes on Louisiana Tech. Following the conclusion of the game, Auburn will take on Georgia Tech at 5 p.m. CST.
On Saturday, Georgia Tech and Louisiana Tech will start at 10 a.m. CST, followed by Auburn and Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m. CST. The final game of the day will feature Auburn and Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. CST to finish off the weekend.
All games in the War Eagle Classic featuring Auburn will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
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Alexa Gardner is a junior at Auburn, majoring in exercise science. From Birmingham, Alabama, she started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @alexagardner_
