KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 15 Auburn softball (39-13, 11-12 SEC) fought from behind to take a lead in game two of Saturday's doubleheader slate at No 14 Tennessee (37-15, 14-8 SEC), but the Lady Vols came back for the victory to sweep both games at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
"We didn't do things well in either game to win," said head Mickey Dean. "We weren't aggressive offensively in the opening game. We let that one slip by. We made defensive mistakes and gave up cheap runs in a close ballgame. We played great defense, but we did not pitch well in the second game. We hit the ball, but we still left several runners in scoring position."
Free passes and costly errors for the Tigers proved the difference in the series opener as the Lady Vols scored three unearned runs en route to a 5-2 victory. Four of the five Tennessee runs that scored reached base by either a walk or hit by pitch.
The Tigers plated runs on timely two-out hits from freshman Aubrie Lisenby and sophomore Sydney Cox.
Despite suffering the loss, sophomore Maddie Penta (23-7) racked up the strikeouts in the circle as she matched her season high in SEC play with 11. With her season strikeout total standing at 242, Penta is now seventh in Auburn single-season history.
Tennessee jumped out to a first-inning lead in game one, but the Tigers used a four-run fourth inning to regain the lead. Lisenby drove in the go-ahead runs with a two-out double in the inning. The Lady Vols used four home runs over the fourth and fifth innings to plate five unanswered runs to sweep the doubleheader with a 7-4 victory.
Sophomore Makayla Packer turned in a multi-hit performance in game two as she went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. She swiped her 18th stolen base of the season, tying Alyssa Rivera (2019) for the sixth most in a single season. Packer's career stolen base total of 34 now stands seventh in school history to tie Lauren Walton (2004-07).
Shelby Lowe and KK Dismukes (6-3) both tossed three innings each in Saturday's finale.
GAME ONE SCORING RECAP
After a quiet first inning, the Lady Vols led off the bottom of the second with a single to center and a walk. Penta battled back with a strikeout for the first out of the inning, but Ashley Moore put the Lady Vols on the board, driving in a run with a double to left center.
Penta kept the damage to the lone run as she stranded two in scoring position with back-to-back strikeouts.
Tennessee took advantage of a leadoff base runner in the bottom of the third to manufacture a second run. With a runner on via a hit by pitch, Amanda Ayala doubled to right field. An error on a throw back to home plate allowed an unearned run to score for the Lady Vols.
With a pair of Tigers on base with help of freebies, Lisenby got the Tigers on the board with an RBI single to left field to cut the Tennessee lead to 2-1.
The Lady Vols responded in the bottom of the inning as the Lady Vols loaded the bases with a walk, hit by pitch an Auburn error. Kiki Milloy did the damage with a two-out double to left field to drive in a pair of runs. Ivy Davis extended Tennessee's lead to 5-1 with a solo home run to left in the bottom of the fifth.
Cox attempted to spark a rally late with a solo blast in the seventh inning, but Auburn was unable to pass the baton down the order.
GAME TWO SCORING RECAP
The Lady Vols struck in the first inning as a leadoff walk was followed by RBI singles from Ayala and Zaida Puni put Tennessee up 2-0.
Auburn was held to a lone infield single until the top of the fourth. Packer notched her second hit of the contest with a double to left field. Freshman Jessie Blaine poked a single to left field just out of the reach of a jumping Tennessee shortstop Davis to put runners on the corners.
Freshman Bri Ellis made it a one-run game with a bloop single to shallow left center. Freshman Nelia Peralta locked the contest up at 2-2 as she also found a hole in shallow left center just out of the reach of a diving Milloy.
Lisenby kept the big inning going as she cleared the bases in front of her with a double down the line in left to give Auburn its first lead of the series.
Tennessee regained the lead in the bottom of the fourth with back-to-back-to-back solo home runs from Puni and Davis and Kelcy Leach. The Lady Vols added to its lead in the fifth with a two-run home run from Puni.
The Tigers had a chance in the top of the fifth as a double from junior Lindsey Garcia was followed by a misplayed fielder's choice by the Lady Vols that allowed Packer to reach first safely with one out. Pack stole second to put two in scoring position, but back-to-back outs retired the side.
Tennessee pitcher Erin Edmoundson would end the game retiring eight consecutive batters.
UP NEXT
Auburn looks to salvage the final game of the series on Sunday. The regular-season finale is set for 12:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+.
