Feb. 17, 2008
Auburn, Ala. - Freshman pitcher Angel Bunner threw a complete game shutout and surrendered only two hits in her collegiate debut to the lead the Auburn softball team to a 5-0 victory over Furman in the last game of the Tiger Invitational.
The win gave Auburn the overall tournament championship with a 5-0 record. Furman dropped to 1-5 on the season and went 0-5 in the tournament.
"I'm proud of our team and the way they competed," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "Angel did a terrific job in her first start and did a lot of things she can build on. As a team, we accomplished our first goal of winning each game and that's a good start."
Bunner (1-0) retired the first 11 hitters she faced before a two-out single in the fourth broke up her no-hit bid. Bunner struck out three and did not issue a walk in 7.0 innings of work.
Offensively, the Tigers were led by sophomore Alicia Hunolt who drove in a pair of runs with double in the third inning to give Auburn its first runs of the game. Hunolt's two RBI gave her a total of six for the tournament in just seven at-bats.
Taryn Gray followed with an RBI single that gave the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
Katie Colton and Fernandez would each drive in a run in the sixth inning to give Auburn the final 5-0 margin of victory.
Auburn placed three players on the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team. Junior outfielder Myesha Finney, junior catcher Tatiana Fernandez and sophomore pitcher Anna Thompson were each named to the team.
Finney also earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors after hitting .333 with five RBI, one home run, two doubles and two triples. Thompson also took home Most Valuable Pitcher honors, going 3-0 with 0.79 ERA and striking out 25 hitters in 17.2 innings of work.
Auburn returns to action Wednesday, Feb. 20, against South Alabama in Mobile. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. CT start. The Tigers then travel to Orlando for the University of Central Florida Tournament Feb. 22-24.