Feb. 17, 2006
AUBURN, Ala. - Junior pitchers Beth DiPietro and Holly Currie both turned in double-digit strikeout performances Friday as the 20th-ranked Auburn softball team swept its first day at the War Eagle Classic.
DiPietro struck out 10 in the Tigers' 5-2 victory over Middle Tennessee in game one. Currie, meanwhile, struck out 11 in a 7-1 defeat of Jacksonville State in the team's second game. Both contests were played at Jane B. Moore Field.
"Beth and Holly threw very well tonight," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "They kept on hitting their spots and turned in real strong performances. I'm very proud of the way they threw the ball today."
DiPietro kept Middle Tennessee at bay in game one, limiting the Blue Raiders to seven hits and two runs -- one earned -- in a complete game effort. The 10 strikeouts tied her career high, set last season against Arkansas. It surpassed her season-best nine-strikeout effort last week against Miami (Ohio).
The junior is 3-0 with a 1.91 earned run average in six appearances this season.
"Beth threw a controlled game today, which allowed for those 10 strikeouts," Deese said. "She found the corner and stuck with it and kept those batters off balance. She walked just two, which was real key in a tight game like that."
Robin Martin paced Auburn's offense, going 3 for 3 with two RBI. She drove in Brittany Scott with a single during Auburn's four-run second. She pushed another run across the plate in the fifth on a single up the middle.
Junior Sara Ghezzi had two hits in the three-run victory, and freshman Taryn Gray, who went 1 for 4, posted two RBI, both coming on a double in the second.
Trish White threw for Middle Tennessee (0-3) and fell to 0-2 on the season. She allowed nine hits and five runs over six innings. She struck out three and walked two.
Currie struck 11 in the Tigers' nightcap, a 7-1 win over Jacksonville State. The junior from Pisgah, Ala., held the Gamecocks to four hits in the complete game effort. She walked just three to improve to 4-0 this season.
Currie has struck out 10 or more batters in a game this season four times in just five appearances from the circle.
"Holly got much stronger as the game went on," Deese said. "Like Beth, she picked her corners, but also overpowered her batters at times."
Junior Kristina McCain went 3 for 4 with a home run, a solo shot in the seventh, to pace the Auburn offensive attack. The Tigers rapped out 11 hits against the Gamecocks, the fifth time in eight games this season Auburn has reached double digits.
The Tigers opened the game with two runs in the third. McCain led off the scoring with a single to center, and was driven in later by Currie on another single.
Auburn continued its scoring pace in the fourth. Sophomore Starr Dorsey singled to right, scoring senior Ashley Griffin. Two batters later, Dorsey came around from second when junior Lauren Walton reached on a bunt and a throwing error.
Auburn continues its turn at the War Eagle Classic by hosting Mercer at 12:30 p.m. and Furman at 3 p.m. CT., on Saturday. Catch the games live on the Internet at www.auburntigers.com and WZMG-AM (910). Streaming video will also be available for the Mercer contest.
TIGER NOTES: Auburn wore its blue uniform for both games ... The Tigers improved to 5-0 in their blue uniforms this season ... Freshman catcher Tatiana Fernandez threw out the first runner of her career in the third inning of game one ... She got Middle Tennessee's Michelle Wilkes at second to end the inning ... The Tigers have outscored the Blue Raiders by a combined 25-2 over the past two seasons (three games) ... Auburn defeated Middle Tennessee in two games at the Buzz Classic last season in Marietta, Ga., 13-1 and 7-0 ... Auburn entered its games Friday with very impressive batting averages among current players against Middle Tennessee and Jacksonville State ... Collectively, current Tigers were batting .342 against the Blue Raiders and finished that game with nine hits ... Auburn was hitting .350 against Jacksonville State and finished with 11 in game two ... Junior Kristina McCain had her six-game hit streak stopped against Middle Tennessee by going 0 for 3 ... She did, however, reach base -- as she has done in all seven games this season -- after getting hit by a pitch ... Freshman Taryn Gray, meanwhile, extended her hit streak to seven games against the Blue Raiders with a double in the second inning of game one ... Gray made it eight games against Jacksonville State after singling off the first base bag in the fifth.