AUBURN, Ala. – With a career high in strikeouts, sophomore Shelby Lowe shut down ULM (11-3) at the plate as No. 21 Auburn (11-1) used situational softball to take down the Warhawks 3-0 Friday at Jane B. Moore Field to open the Plainsman Invite.
The victory was Auburn's second consecutive shutout and fifth of the season. Auburn improved to 6-0 in contests at Jane B. Moore Field.
"Lowe did a nice job," said head coach Mickey Dean. "It was a two-hitter, so we'll take that. She got herself into a little trouble late, but she was able to battle back with strikeouts. We didn't have the big key hits when we had runners on base. We came into this weekend knowing that we needed to work on our short game. Today, it came through."
Lowe earned her sixth victory of the season with another impressive performance in the circle. In seven innings of work, Lowe scattered four base runners as she gave up just two hits, one walk and a hit by pitch. She totaled a career high as she struck out 13. Lowe had previously struck out 12 in two outings, the last coming against Arkansas on April 2, 2021.
Lowe retired six straight before giving up a hit by pitch to lead off the top of third. She needed just six pitches to retire the next three batters.
ULM would not see a base runner against until it led off the top of the sixth with a four-pitch walk. The Warhawks added a one-out single to center, their first hit of the game, but Lowe responded with back-to-back strikeouts to leave the runners stranded. ULM's second and final hit of the game came in the top of the seventh with a two-out single to center.
Junior Carlee McCondichie led Auburn at the plate with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with a double and run scored. McCondichie's three hits were a season high. Sophomore Sydney Cox also turned in a multi-hit performance with a pair of hits and an RBI. Junior Lindsey Garcia extended her hit streak to six games with a single.
Sophomore Makayla Packer reached safely in three of her four plate appearance as she doubled, drew a walk and was hit by a pitch. Packer scored twice in the outing. Stealing her 23rd career base, Packer moved to a tie for 17th in program history for steals with Brittany Scott (2005-08).
Packer led off the game with a four-pitch walk. Packer moved herself into scoring position with a steal while an errant throw down to the bag allowed her to advance to third. Freshman Nelia Peralta knocked her second sacrifice fly of the season to pick up her team-leading 14th RBI of the season.
Auburn used small ball in the bottom of the third to plate a pair of runs. McCondichie slugged a one-out double to right field before Packer turned on the afterburners to turn an infield hit into a double. Cox dropped down the bunt as Auburn squeezed home a run. The throw at the plate went wild and allowed Packer to score safely from second.
UP NEXT
Auburn returns to Jane B. Moore Field on Saturday for day two of the Plainsman Invite. Auburn will face Delaware State at 2:30 p.m. CT before taking on Bradley at 5 p.m. CT. Saturday's doubleheader will air on the SEC Network+