AUBURN, Ala. – D1 Softball released its Preseason D100 Player Rankings earlier this month and a trio of Tigers were honored by the national publication.
Coming off one of the best individual pitching performances in over a decade and earning All-SEC accolades, junior Maddie Penta earned a No. 37 ranking. Despite battling through injury throughout the 2022 season, junior Shelby Lowe was listed at No. 62. Reigning Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year Bri Ellis rounded out the Tigers at No. 74.
Auburn was one of just 12 programs in the country to have three or more student-athletes ranked by the publication. The Tigers joined Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and LSU as the only SEC programs to have at least three student-athletes ranked.
Auburn's first All-SEC First Team honoree since 2017, Penta led the SEC and ranked 15th in the nation with 24 wins in the circle, which included a streak of nine consecutive winning decision to set a program record. Her 24 victories were tied for the second most by an Auburn pitcher in a season. She ended her sophomore campaign with 23 wins in her 35 starts.
Penta closed her sophomore season ranking second in the SEC with 269 strikeouts. She was one of just seven pitchers in program history to record 250 strikeouts in a season and was the first to do so since Anna Thompson in 2010. Her strikeout total set the program's sophomore record and ranked fifth overall in Auburn single season history.
Penta allowed just 49 earned runs over 195.0 innings of work for a 1.76 ERA, the lowest among qualifying pitchers in the SEC. She issued just 53 walks compared to her 269 strikeouts and held opponents to a .181 average at the plate. The Chesapeake City, Maryland, native also led the SEC in innings pitched and ranked third in the league in strikeouts per seven innings (9.8) and fourth in both hits allowed per seven innings (4.59) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.08).
Battling through injury, Lowe posted a 9-3 record behind a 2.81 earned run average during her sophomore campaign. The Carrollton, Alabama, native tossed four complete-game efforts, including three shutouts and led the SEC with five saves, the third most recorded in Auburn single season history.
Lowe led the conference and ranked 12th in the country with a 6.79 strikeout-to-walk ratio, issuing just 19 free passes compared to 129 strikeouts. The left-hander also ranked second the league with a 9.8 strikeouts per seven inning mark.
The most powerful bat in the Tiger lineup, 20 of Ellis's 45 hits were home runs. She led all SEC freshmen and ranked third in the conference in both total home runs and home runs per game (0.36). Her home run total is also good for 13th in Division I softball.
Ellis is just the second Auburn freshman in program history to slug at least 10 home runs in their debut season. The Houston, Texas, native surpassed three-time Auburn All-American Kasey Cooper for the program's freshman record. Ellis closed her freshman campaign tied for the second most home runs hit in a single season at Auburn.
Adding eight doubles and a triple to her power numbers, Ellis closed the season tied for fifth in Auburn single-season history with a .772 slugging percentage. The mark is the seventh highest slugging clip among SEC hitters. She led the team with 49 RBI and added 32 runs scored.
She rounded out her debut season with the program's second highest slugging percentage, total bases and RBI recorded by an Auburn freshman.
Auburn opens its 2023 season traveling to Clearwater, Florida to compete in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The Tigers open the season with a twin billing on Friday, Feb. 10, taking on St. John's at 12:30 p.m. CT before facing Fordham at 3 p.m. CT.