Lowe rewrites record book in LSU series opener

BATON ROUGE – In a tightly contested pitching duel, Shelby Lowe reached another major milestone in her meteoric freshman debut, but Auburn softball came up just short as No. 16/13 LSU walked off a 2-1 victory Friday night at Tiger Park to open the series.
 
Lowe struck out four batters in Friday's contest to bring her season total to 171, the second most ever recorded by an Auburn freshman pitcher, surpassing Jenee Loree. Lowe also now stands 10th in Auburn single-season history in total strikeouts. Her 171 strikeouts are the most by an Auburn pitcher since the 2010 season.
 
After giving up a lone run in the first, Lowe kept LSU off the board through the next five innings with help of retiring nine consecutive Tigers. Raeleen Gutierrez walked off the victory for LSU with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Lowe (13-8) tossed the complete game, allowing the two runs off six hits. Along with her four strikeouts, Lowe did not walk a single batter in Friday's series opener.
 
At the plate, Auburn knocked three hits, all of which went for extra bases. Aspyn Godwin slugged her fifth home run of the season while Makenna Dowell and Lindsey Garcia both added doubles. Makayla Packer swiped her 15th stolen base of the season in Friday's contest. She now stands tied for eighth in Auburn single-season history for most stolen bases.
 
"We tried to make a great play there late," said head coach Mickey Dean. "It was very close to being a great play but ends up being a double. They hit the ball deep enough to score."
 
Speedy Aliyah Andrews led off the first with a single up the middle for LSU before stealing second to move into scoring position. Taylor Pleasants drove her home with an RBI single to left field. Godwin tied the contest up with one swing in the top of the third as she drove a ball to left field for her team-leading fifth home run of the season.
 
LSU's Shelbi Sunseri and Lowe would control the game, keeping both offenses in check until the seventh inning. Auburn had a chance late as Dowell led off the seventh with her double to center, but an out made in foul territory and a pinch running miscue put two quick outs on the board.
 
Packer would swipe third with two outs to put the go-ahead run in scoring position, but a ground ball back to Sunseri kept the game tied.
 
Amanda Doyle led off the seventh with a double to center. After a sacrifice bunt moved her to third, Gutierrez drove her home with a sacrifice fly to centerfield. The Tigers throw to the plate was offline.
 
ON DECK
Auburn looks to tie the series on Saturday. First pitch for game two is set for 6 p.m. CT. The game will be available on the SEC Network+.