AUBURN, Ala. – It was a quiet afternoon at the plate for No. 22/23 Auburn softball's bats as the Tigers fell to Kennesaw State and No. 13 Florida State at Jane B. Moore Field to open the War Eagle Battle on Saturday.
Taylor Cates knocked two solo home runs to carry Kennesaw State (9-12) to a 2-0 victory. Auburn (16-6) knocked six base hits in the contest but could not scratch a run across. Tyler King and Alyssa Rivera led the Tigers at the plate, combining for four of the six Tiger hits with their multi-hit performances.
Shelby Lowe earned the start, tossing 5.2 innings for the Tigers. The freshman allowed five hits and a walk and struck out four. She was tagged with the two earned runs off Cates' home runs. Lowe fell to 6-2 on the season.
KK Dismukes tossed the final 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, a walk and striking out two.
Florida State (15-5) plated crooked numbers in four of the five innings to claim a 10-1 win in five innings. The Seminoles used three Auburn errors to plate three unearned runs in the victory.
Kelsey Schmidt fought off the shutout with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth. Her second of the season.
Maddie Penta fell to 6-3 on the season in the loss. She gave up five runs off four hits and a pair of walks and two hit by pitches. One of her five runs allowed was unearned. Penta struck out five in the appearance.
Lexie Handley and Dismukes both tossed relief innings for the Tigers. Handley gave up two runs off a pair of hits and walk. Dismukes tossed 1.2 innings for the Tigers. She gave up three runs, only one earned, off three hits and two walks.
Elizabeth Mason led Florida State at the plate with a 3-for-3 outing at the plate. Mason scored twice and drove in three runs.
TIGER TRACKS
- Alyssa Rivera recorded her first multi-hit game of the season. She now has 48 in her career.
- Tyler King recorded her third multi-hit game of the season. She has six multi-hit games in her Auburn career.
- Kelsey Schmidt slugged her second home run of her freshman season.
UP NEXT
Auburn wraps up the War Eagle Battle on Sunday with rematches with both Florida State and Kennesaw State. The doubleheader slate begins at 1 pm. CT against the Seminoles before taking on the Owls at 4 p.m. CT.