TROY, Ala. –It was a back-and-forth affair Tuesday night at the Troy Softball Complex, but No. 25 Auburn softball (15-6-1) held on to a 4-3 lead take down Troy (22-10) in 10 innings.
"It was just grit," said head coach Mickey Dean. "To come on the road midweek after playing a three-game series and face a really good Troy team. We had to face the emotions of having the game won and then tying it up, having the game won and then tying it up. The good thing is that we kept working and never let them take the lead. That was key. Shelby (Lowe) had been paying attention throughout the game. She came in and threw the pitches she needed to shut them down."
Icess Tresvik scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning. After getting on board with walk and working her way to third, Tresvik threw on the brakes trying to score on a wild pitch and dove back to the bag. An errant throw sailed in the outfield, allowing Tresvik to race home, dodging the tag at the plate to give Auburn the 4-3 lead.
Shelby Lowe gave up a one-out single to bring the go-ahead run to the plate, but a pair of strikeouts sealed the deal as she picked up the win in relief. Lowe (4-1) tossed two innings, giving up just two hits and striking out four in the outing.
Auburn jumped out to an early lead as Anna Wohlers put the Tigers on the board in the first inning as she sent the first pitch of her at bat to straightaway center for her second home run of the season.
Leading off the top of the fourth with a walk to Amelia Lech, an Abbey Smith's sacrifice moved pinch runner Riley McNemar into scoring position. Annabelle Widra came through with the insurance RBI and she poked a single through the right side of the infield.
After giving up a double in the third inning, starting pitcher Maddie Penta would retire 10 straight until the Trojans put together a two-out rally in the sixth as a single through the left side, hit by pitch and a passed ball put two runners in scoring position and the go-ahead run at the plate.
Nelia Peralta made a diving stop at shortstop to keep a hard-hit ball from leaving the infield, but the single allowed a run to score to cut the lead to 2-1. The 11th strikeout of the night for Penta kept the tying run stranded at third base. The Trojan rally continued in the seventh inning as a pinch-hit home run to lead off the frame forced extra innings.
It was Makayla Packer that did the damage in the top of the eighth as she led off the frame with a triple. The threat of her speed forced an errant throw to the bag that sailed out of play and awarded Packer an extra base to score the go-ahead run, but the back-and-forth affair continued in the home half of the frame as a leadoff triple and sacrifice fly for the Trojans tied the game back up to take the game to the ninth.
Making her Auburn career record 106th start, Penta tossed eight innings for the Tigers. She allowed just two earned runs off five hits. She struck out 12 for her seventh double digit strikeout effort of the season.
Auburn continues its road swing this weekend with a three-game series versus No. 12 Texas A&M at Davis Diamond. The series begins on Friday with a 6 p.m. CT first pitch on the SEC Network+.
