AUBURN, Ala. – On a wild night at Jane B. Moore Field that saw Maddie Penta earn a win in relief and make her first collegiate plate appearances, No. 21 Auburn softball (8-1) picked up a pair of wins during Saturday's slate of the Tiger Invitational.
Auburn opened Saturday's doubleheader coming from behind to knock off Villanova 9-3. Senior Lindsey Garcia had the game-changing at-bat as she slugged a first inning grand slam to put the Tigers in front. Garcia closed Saturday's slate with a team-leading five RBI.
Shelby Lowe earned the start against the Wildcats, picking up her first win of the season. Lowe fanned seven batters and allowed two runs off two hits. Penta and freshman Emmah Rolfe both saw relief innings with Penta striking out five of the six batters she faced.
With the game locked at 2-2 after three innings, Auburn plated eight unanswered runs over the fourth and fifth innings to top Dayton 10-2 with a walk-off wild pitch in the fifth. Penta earned the victory in relief with three strikeouts. Penta also made two plate appearances, recording a sacrifice bunt and a walk.
Bri Ellis picked up a pair of hits against the Flyers, including her first home run of the season. Ellis ended the night with three RBI.
"We used four of our five pitchers, and everyone got an at-bat," head coach Mickey Dean said. "We gained some good experience today. I saw a lot of people doing a lot of good things. I didn't see a lot of people pressing. We had people willing to come into the game and be patient and get the job done, which you don't always see, so that was good."
The Tigers had to play from behind early in their rematch against Villanova. A leadoff single from Tess Cites and a pair of Auburn errors turned into an unearned run.
Auburn quickly responded in the home half of the first inning, loading the bases with singles from Nelia Peralta and Carlee McCondichie and a Villanova error. Garcia flipped the script with a two-out grand slam to left field.
The Wildcats earned a run back in the second as Chloe Smith hit a ball to the warning track in left field that ricocheted off the wall, and Auburn's left fielder KK McCrary, over the fence for a home run to left field. Tigers traded long balls with the 'Cats as Icess Tresvik went deep to left center for a solo blast to push the lead to 5-2.
Continuing to add to its lead, Auburn scored twice in the bottom of the third as Sydney Cox picked up an RBI before the Tigers manufactured an unearned run off back-to-back Villanova errors. Speed was the key to Auburn's eighth run of the game. Lifting Peralta for Rose Roach, Roach swiped second before scoring on a single up the middle from McCondichie to extend the lead to 8-2 after four.
The Tigers got a pair on in the bottom of the fifth with a walk from Cox and a single from Jessie Blaine. Freshman Millie Roberts continued to produce in pinch-hit appearances as she singled through the right side for an RBI. Auburn tried to walk off the game, but Villanova made the play at the plate to starve off the run rule.
A pair of walks to lead off the seventh turned into a run as the Wildcats scored on a sacrifice fly, but Rolfe settled down the threat to carry Auburn to a 9-3 victory.
The trend of first-inning scoring continued against the Flyers. With Peralta and McCondichie both in scoring position with two outs, Ellis connected with a bases-clearing single to get the Tigers on the board.
The Flyers answered in the top of the second, stringing together three two-out hits to tie the game at 2-2.
Both teams traded inning-ending double plays, but the Tigers found a much-needed spark in the bottom of the fourth. After back-to-back walks to lead off the inning, Penta made her first collegiate plate appearance, laying down the sacrifice bunt.
The Flyers elected to go to the plate on ground ball from Denver Bryant. Catching pinch runner Abbey Smith in a pickle between third and home, an errant throw allowed two runs to score and give Auburn the lead.
Following the third Tiger walk of the inning, Peralta singled to left center to clear the bags before scoring on a double to right field to push the lead to 7-2.
Getting back on track at the plate, Ellis led off the fifth with her first home run of the season and her 21st in an Auburn uniform. Making her second plate appearance, Penta drew a one-out walk before coming around to score on a triple from pinch-hitter Blaine. Blaine walked off the run-rule victory by scoring on a wild pitch.
The Tigers conclude the Tiger Invitational tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. CT. Sunday's finale will air on the SEC Network+.