AUBURN, Ala. – With a sweep of Gulf Coast State and Wallace State on Sunday at Jane B. Moore Field, Auburn softball completed its fall exhibition season with an undefeated record.
Powered behind a pair of shutouts from the Tiger pitching staff and timely hitting in the latter innings, Auburn defeated Gulf Coast State 4-0 before topping Wallace State 8-0.
Junior Abbey Smith led the Tigers with a 4-for-6 effort at the plate with three runs scored, three stolen bases and four RBI. Smith drove in the go-ahead runs in both of Sunday's contests. Freshman Thalia Martin had her strongest weekend of the fall, matching Smith with a 4-for-6 outing with three runs, one RBI and five stolen bases.
Senior KK McCrary and freshman Chalea Clemmons both drove in a pair of runs over Sunday's doubleheader with McCrary pacing the team with two doubles.
Auburn's pitching staff tossed a pair of shutouts on Sunday, giving up just five hits over 14 innings. Clemmons led the Tigers with five strikeouts while sophomore Emmah Rolfe closed the fall season without giving up a single run.
It was a back-and-forth pitching duel through the first three innings versus Gulf Coast State. Auburn had traffic on the bases every inning but couldn't scratch a run across until the fourth. Smith broke the stalemate with a two-out single to left field, scoring Martin from second to give Auburn a 1-0 lead.
That score held until the sixth inning when Smith came through again this time with a single to right field to score a run. McCrary padded the lead with a bases-clearing double to right center.
Rolfe was lights out in the start, retiring 12 of the 13 batters she faced with the help of four strikeouts to earn her second win of the fall season. Malayna Tamborra picked up where Rolfe left off with three scoreless frames to earn the save. The duo held Gulf Coast State to just two hits.
It was a similar start in Sunday's nightcap with a scoreless game after three innings. Smith was once again the hero as she drove in the first run of the game with an infield single. Junior Annabelle Widra stepped to the plate to execute a squeeze bunt perfectly to drive the score to 2-0. Clemmons delivered the big hit of the inning with a two-run double to right field to put Auburn up 4-0.
The Tigers added four runs in the fifth with sophomore Millie Roberts and junior Rose Roach sparking the offense with a pair of infield singles to lead off the frame. Smith picked up an RBI with a fielder's choice to score pinch runner Icess Tresvik. Martin followed with an RBI single to center. The Tigers used an error in the outfield and a wild pitch to score two more runs to take the 8-0 lead.
Widra tossed the first four innings versus Wallace State, allowing just one hit while keeping the Lions off the board. She totaled three strikeouts and closed the fall with a 3-0 record. Clemmons earned her second save with three scoreless frames to close the game. She struck out five in the outing.