Tigers Hold Off Georgia State, Take 4-2 Victory
March 29, 2005
Holly Currie |
AUBURN -- Sara Dean hit her 20th career home run and Brittany Day won her third game of the season as the 25th ranked Auburn softball team defeated Georgia State, 4-2, Tuesday in a non-conference tilt at Jane B. Moore Field.
Dean belted a two-run home run in the fifth inning, her fifth shot of the season, to lead the Auburn offense, which rapped out eight hits overall. The Tigers scored all four of their runs off Georgia State starter Elizabeth Hyman, who fell to 9-10 on the season after working five innings.
"It's a good win," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "It's a good win in a mid-week matchup. Brittany threw a real good game, mixing up pitches and hitting her spots. And our batters did well against a pitcher they won't see again. They did what they needed to do."
Day improved to 3-0 on the year after working six innings. She struck out four and walked two while allowing seven hits. Each of the Panthers' (11-20) two runs were scored against the freshman, but neither were earned.
Beth DiPietro came on in relief of Day in the seventh and worked a full inning for her second save of the season. She struck out one in her short appearance.
The Tigers (33-9) scored their first run of the game in the third on a double by Holly Currie. The double was her 17th this season and it scored Kristina McCain from third. The run batted in was Currie's 46th this season, extending her Auburn single-season record.
Auburn matched that in the fourth. Brittany Scott, pinch running for Sara Ghezzi, and Lolani Alvarez pulled off a double steal with the latter barely beating the throw at the plate.
Ghezzi and Currie both had two hits to pace Auburn.
The Tigers now play Wednesday at Jacksonville State in the team's last regular season non-conference game. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. CT. Catch the game live on the Internet at www.auburntigers.com or on WANI-AM (1400) in the Auburn area.
TIGER NOTES: Earlier in the day, the Tigers received 22 votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll ... That is up from seven points a week ago ... It would place the Tigers 26th in the nation if the poll extended that far as Auburn is only 14 points shy of No. 25 LSU ... Sara Dean is now just one of four players in Auburn history to hit 20 or more home runs in their career ... She ties Michelle Martin (1998-01) for third in school history ... Holly Currie's 17th double ties her for third-most in a single-season in Auburn history ... She is tied with Ashley Moore (2000), Jen Kraemer (2000) and Ashley Griffin (2003) ... The Tigers improved to 17-2 at Jane B. Moore Field this season ... Auburn wore its white uniforms and improved to 19-4 in them this season ... Auburn has won three straight and six of its last seven games.