ATLANTA – Locked in a tied game in the seventh inning, No. 18 Auburn softball (20-3) put the go-ahead run into scoring position but couldn't come away with the big hit as Georgia Tech (12-8) rallied in the home half to walk off a 2-1 win Wednesday at Mewborn Field.
"They out-hit us," said head coach Mickey Dean. "They outplayed us on defense, and they out-pitched us. Usually, the team that does that is going to win. We didn't have good approaches in our at-bats. We just want to pass the bat. I think we were trying to do too much. The later we got into the game, it got worse. We calmed down and got a couple good at-bats. They switched pitchers and got out of the inning. We threw close to 100 pitches. I always tell our pitchers that it only takes one bad one, and we threw two bad pitches."
Maddie Penta and Georgia Tech's Blake Newton went toe to toe in the circle, tossing five scoreless frames. Giving up two extra-base hits, Penta stranded a pair of runners in scoring position to preserve the shutout.
The Tiger offense was stifled to two singles until the sixth inning. Jessie Blaine was the late-inning hero as she drove a low pitch over the centerfield wall for a two-out, solo home run to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Auburn followed with a pair of hits, including a Lindsey Garcia double, but a play at the plate prevented the insurance run from scoring.
Auburn's lead was short lived as Georgia Tech turned a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth into a run, snapping Penta's streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to score at outstanding 62.1 innings. It was the first run Penta had allowed to score in 39.1 consecutive innings, the second longest consecutive scoreless inning streak in school history.
Surpassing 100 strikeouts for her junior campaign, Penta closed her outing with eight through 5.2 innings and allowed the one run off five hits.
After the third Yellow Jacket hit in the inning, Auburn made a call to the bullpen, bringing in Shelby Lowe. Lowe needed four pitches to get out the jam, forcing a line out to second.
The Tigers had a chance in the top of the seventh, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position with back-to-back walks, but a strikeout ended the scoring threat. The Yellow Jackets walked it off in the seventh with a solo home run from Reese Hunter.
Auburn's tour of Georgia continues as Auburn opens its Southeastern Conference slate in Athens against the No. 19 Bulldogs. The series begins Friday with a 5:30 p.m. CT first pitch on the SEC Network+.