March 4, 2006
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Junior Beth DiPietro tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts and limited Florida Atlantic to just one hit as the 20th-ranked Auburn softball team defeated the Owls, 4-1, Saturday at the FAU Pepsi Cola Classic at FAU Field.
The win pushed Auburn to 2-0 after one day of play at the two-day tournament. The Tigers defeated Boston College, 10-2, in six innings to start the day.
Against Florida Atlantic, DiPietro held the Owls (5-9 overall) to two walks. She lost her no-hitter on an FAU triple in the sixth. Nevertheless, she held off the Owls for the final two innings and improved to 6-1 on the year. In 10 appearances and eight starts this season, DiPietro has seven complete games after going a full seven innings against Florida Atlantic.
"Beth moved the ball around and kept hitters off their toes," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "She's pitched very well this season and kept up that pace in Florida. It was a great first day for us, and an exceptional day for Beth and Holly (Currie). We'll get some rest tonight and continue on tomorrow."
Auburn (14-3) started the scoring off early, pushing two runs across in the first. Kristina McCain walked to start the game, then saw the Tigers load the bases on consecutive singles by senior Ashley Griffin and junior Holly Currie. Freshman Tatiana Fernandez kept up her hot hitting with a single to right, driving in McCain and Griffin. The two RBI gave Fernandez three on the day after she drove in a run in a 2 for 2 effort against Boston College in the first game of the day.
Auburn gave itself a cushion in the sixth. Freshman Taryn Gray reached on an error to begin the inning, then scored when freshman Ashley Arcuri doubled to left. Arcuri came around to score three batters later when McCain grounded out to second.
Currie and Fernandez paced the Tigers with two hits apiece. Currie finished the day with three hits, including a home run, and two RBI, against FAU and Boston College.
The second and final day of the FAU Pepsi Cola Classic takes place Sunday, with No. 20 slated for 10 a.m. EST., against Boston College and 12 p.m. versus host Florida Atlantic. Live stats will be available on www.auburntigers.com.
TIGER NOTES: The Tigers wore their white uniforms for the second game in addition to the first game ... Auburn improved to 5-1 in them this season ... The game marked the 200th in senior Ashley Griffin's career ... The Pace, Fla., native has started 199 of those games, including 180 consecutive ... Griffin now needs 36 straight starts to tie former Tiger Sara Dean for the most consecutive in school history ... Dean started the last 216 games of her career ... The wins Saturday marked the 597th and 598th victories in Auburn head coach Tina Deese's career ... Deese, who has coached for 18 seasons at the collegiate level, could reach the 600-win mark with two victories.