2/26/23 Auburn Articles

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Penta's no-hitter, Garcia's grand slam and another happy day for Auburn softball

Phillip Marshall

4–5 minutes

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  Maddie Penta pitched her third career no-hitter. (Photo: Auburn University)

AUBURN, Alabama – Maddie Penta has a hard time pleasing … Maddie Penta. On Saturday, Penta pitched the third no-hitter of her Auburn career. She missed a perfect game only because she nicked a North Dakota State batter on the forearm. She struck out seven as Auburn won 9-0 in six innings.

But Penta struck out “only” seven. She was happy to have another no-hitter, but excited she improved to 8-0 and kept her earned average at 0.00? Not really.

“It was a little fun,” Penta said. “The last three innings, my legs didn’t work, and I wasn’t hitting my spots very well. Getting a no-hitter feels good. The last three innings didn’t all feel that good.”

Penta had plenty of help from her defense. And though it took a while, plenty of help from her offense. Right fielder Lindsey Garcia ended the game with her second grand slam of the season over the right field fence. She also had a double and finished 2-for-3 with five RBIs.

“I am seeing it really well,” Garcia said. “You are not going to be perfect. Everyone is going to make mistakes. I’m relaxed right now, just seeing the ball and hitting it hard. The more you worry about it, the more you are not going to be successful. It takes an elite player to know that when you are not pressing and letting every at-bat affect you, you are going to be golden.

Auburn coach Mickey Dean said throwing strikes and help from here defense were the keys for Penta.

“We played really good defense behind her,” Dean said. “She stayed ahead of most of their hitters. The only time they put the ball in play hard was she got behind and she had to show them repetitive pitches. Otherwise, she was staying ahead and didn’t really give them a chance to breathe.”

Hot-hitting Carlee McCondichie was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Bri Ellis was 3-for-3. Makayla Packer was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two stolen bases.

In the second game, Merrimack put up a fight, but Auburn won 7-0 with a number of normal starters sitting out. Garcia, Packer and Aspyn Godwin did not play. Annabelle Widra did not start the game at third base but was the winning pitcher. Nelia Peralta played one inning in the field and had one at-bat before taking a seat.

After pounding Merrimack 12-0 on Friday, Auburn led just 3-0 after three innings. It was 4-0 going to the fifth, when the Tigers, sparked by Ellis booming leadoff homer to centerfield, salted it away with three runs. McCondichie continue to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Sydney Cox, who got the start in left field, also had a double.

Shelby Lowe got the start in the circle and pitched two shutout innings, striking out three and giving up two hits. Widra pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out five to improve to 5-0. Emmah Rolfe finished it with two hitless innings, walking one and striking out five.

In four game this weekend, Auburn’s pitchers have yet to give up a run. They have given up just six hits, give of those coming in Saturday’s second game.

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“We have some very talented girls on our pitching staff,” Penta said. “They are all very eager to work, eager to be out there in that circle. There is real competitive spirit in all our pitchers.”

The Tigers won their 12th straight and increased their record to 14-1. They play a rematch with North Dakota State today at noon to close out the Plainsman Invite.

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theplainsman.com

 

Auburn sweeps double header in Plainsman Invite - The Auburn Plainsman

 

4–5 minutes

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Auburn deleted its competition in Friday's double header with victories over Merrimack and Brown as it run-ruled each team. Here is a recap of each game.

Game 1: Merrimack 

It was very apparent early Auburn had control of the game. In the bottom of the first inning, Auburn put on a barrage of runs.

Icess Tresvik led the way with a two-run double as the Tigers got out to a 6-0 lead. Things did not get easier for the Warriors as they had extreme difficultly producing offense. Auburn continued to pile on the runs as it was up 9-0 heading into the third inning.

Merrimack still continued to struggle as it only recorded one hit in the entire game alongside two errors. Auburn's pitching recorded nine strikeouts as a whole for the game. Auburn dominated the whole game and was able to leave with a 12-0 in its first meeting against the Merrimack Warriors.

Bri Ellis led the Tigers with three RBIs as she recorded her fourth home run of the season while Tresvik and  sophomore Rose Roach tallied two more. Ellis hit 20 home runs during her freshman campaign last season.

“We did a nice job not chasing and just waiting in the batter’s box,” said head coach Mickey Dean. “It comes down to putting a good swing on a good pitch.”

Game 2: Brown

In game two of the day, Auburn defeated Brown 9-0 in a windy Friday night game. Annabelle Widra pitched a no-hitter with only one walk to her name against Brown. It was the 30th no-hitter in program history.

“Everything was feeling good,” Widra said. “My mindset was just to attack batters and trust my pitches. We put in so much work during the week. Tonight, it was just time to let it ride.”

Dean was also impressed with his pitcher's perfect performance.

“For about 95% of the game plan, Annabelle stayed ahead of hitters,” Dean said. “She had great defense behind her. She stayed ahead and was able to hit different quadrants. She did a nice job.”

Auburn got out to another hot start, scoring two runs in the first inning. After a scoreless second inning, Auburn's offense picked things back up in the third inning.

Nelia Peralta hit a home run into deep left field and Carlie McCondiche followed that with a home run of her own — her first of the season. The home runs stretched Auburn's lead to 4-0.

The home run party did not end in the third inning, however. In the bottom of the fourth, Tresvik sent a high-arcing shot over the left field light pole to extend the lead to 6-0. Ellis sent a sky-rocketing shot into right field to push the lead to 9-0 for the Tigers' final runs of the game.

Widra closed out the game and recorded her no-hitter as Auburn picked up its second run-rule victory of the day. 

Auburn will face off against the North Dakota State Bison at 3 p.m.CST  at Jane B. Moore Field tomorrow. The Tigers play Merrimack again after the conclusion of their game against North Dakota State. Both games are available to watch on SEC Network-plus.

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