AUBURN, Ala. — No. 20 Auburn (4-2) opened the Plainsman Invitational with an 9-0 win over the UAB Blazers on Thursday night at Jane B. Moore Field.
"We want to be consistent," head coach Mickey Dean said. "Don't let the moment be too big and don't be too big for the moment. That's something we emphasize. We want to be a great hitting team."
The Tigers used leadoff hits in all four of their plate appearances to collect nine runs and 11 hits. Auburn collected five doubles from Taylon Snow, Tannon Snow, Alyssa Rivera, Kendall Veach and Justus Perry.
Auburn's offense wasted no time getting started. With two runners on, Rivera doubled home Tannon and Taylon Snow in the bottom of the first. The Tiger lead was extended the next inning when Perry scored on a sacrifice fly from Morgan Podany.
The Tigers blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth behind six runs on six hits. Veach started things off with a double to deep center. After Carmyn Greenwood was hit by a pitch, Perry ripped her first double of the season to plate the pair. Auburn added doubles from the Snow sisters to push the Auburn advantage to nine.
Senior Makayla Martin (2-1, 0.82) was dominant in the circle for Auburn. The San Diego, California native allowed just one hit with no walks and picked up seven strikeouts, including striking out the side in the second. Martin tosses her 25th career complete game in addition to her 13th career shutout.
"It's key to bounce back from the two losses last weekend," said Martin. "It really shows our maturity and the growth that we've developed over the fall and the season. It shows that we aren't going to give up."
Auburn will return to action on Friday when the Tigers host Furman at Jane B. Moore Field at 6 p.m. to continue play in the Plainsman Invitational. The game will be broadcasted on the Auburn Sports Network.