Tiger comeback bid falls short against No. 18 Lady Vols

AUBURN, Ala. – Responding with an unanswered run in the fourth inning, Auburn softball's comeback bid fell short as No. 18 Tennessee held on for a 2-1 victory in the series opener Friday night at Jane B. Moore Field.
 
 "Shelby Lowe and Ashley Rogers are two of the best in the SEC," said head coach Mickey Dean. "It was fun to watch those two pitchers go at it. They were two bulldogs tonight."
 
In a pitching duel between Shelby Lowe and Ashley Rogers, Tennessee (36-8, 9-7 SEC) pushed across two runs in the fourth. Auburn answered in the home half with a sacrifice fly from Lindsey Garcia. The Tigers had two well struck balls that were caught at the wall but couldn't come across with the equalizing run.
 
"I thought we played really well," Dean said. "We struck some balls really well and they just caught them."
 
At the plate, Alyssa Rivera went 1-for-3 at the plate with a run scored a double. Makenna Dowell also picked up a single in the contest. Garcia earned Auburn's lone RBI.
 
Lowe (13-6) tossed the complete game, hanging up zeroes on the scoreboard in six total innings. She gave up two runs, both in the fourth innings, off six hits. She issued just one walk and struck out five in the appearance.  
 
After a shaky start allowing two base runners in the first inning, Lowe retired seven straight batters until the fourth inning. Auburn's defense picked up two quick outs, but Tennessee put together a two-out rally to plate a pair of runs.
 
Chelsea Seggern knocked a solo home run to right center. Kiki Milloy singled to left and came home to score on a Rylie West double to center.
 
Rivera led off the bottom of the fourth with a double to left center. After moving to third on a ground ball to second. Garcia hammered a ball to deep right, but it stayed in the outfield and allowed Rivera to score on a sacrifice fly.
 
Makayla Packer wrote her name in the Auburn record book Friday with her 14th stolen base of the season. She now has the second most stolen bases by an Auburn freshman in program history. She is also now tied for 10th for the most stolen bases in single-season history.
 
ON DECK
The Tigers look to even the series on Saturday. First pitch against the Lady Volunteers is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT and is available on the SEC Network +.