AUBURN, Ala. – Keeping its undefeated home record alive, No. 19 Auburn softball (16-1) defeated Rutgers (7-11) and McNeese State (10-7) Friday at Jane B. Moore Field to open the Jane B. Moore Memorial.
“We had areas of the games today that were good and bad,” said co-head coach Chris Malveaux. “We have to be sharper tomorrow on both offense and in the circle but proud that we were able to find ways to get it done. Defensively, we were aggressive. That was a big area of focus this week. It was good to see that. A big thing we want to accomplish this weekend is to learn how to put games away. We’ve had opportunities but haven’t been able to truly put an opponent away. That’s our goal the rest of this weekend.”
Haley Rainey and SJ Geurin kept the Scarlett Knights off the board and a timely home run from Anna Wohlers helped propelled Auburn to a 5-0 win to open Friday’s slate. The Tigers trailed by two to McNeese, but a pair of five-run innings led Auburn to a 10-6 comeback win.
Wohlers was the offensive powerhouse on Friday as she recorded six of Auburn’s 12 RBI. She went 3-for-6 at the plate with a home run and three runs scored. Icess Tresvik also added three hits and three runs scored.
Geurin picked up two more wins to improve to 11-0. Over her 7.2 innings of work, she gave up seven hits, two walks and two runs scored. She led the Tigers with six strikeouts. Rainey added her first save as a Tiger with her relief effort versus the Cowgirls.
AUBURN 5, RUTGERS 0
The Tigers used a pair of walks to get traffic on base in the first inning. Tresvik found herself in a pickle in a pick-off attempt, but an overthrown ball during the play allowed Nelia Peralta to score from second. Two more walks and a wild pitch in the inning brought in a second Tiger run.
Auburn’s 2-0 lead held until the fifth. Peralta and Tresvik once again set the table with a walk and single up the middle, respectively. This time, Wohlers connected with a home run to right field to push the lead to 5-0.
Rainey earned the start and went 2.2 innings of relief. She scattered three hits and struck out one. SJ Geurin was flawless in relief. She needed one pitch in the third inning to get out of the jam and leave two on base. She issued a two-out walk in the fifth, but that would be the last Scarlett Knight to reach base. Geurin struck out five in the outing, helping Auburn secure its second shutout win of the season.
AUBURN 10, MCNEESE 6
Auburn needed comeback magic yet again as a solo home run in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the second built a 2-0 McNeese lead.
The Tigers did just that with a five-run fifth inning. With Abbey Smith on board with help of an error and Peralta following with a single, Wohlers delivered the game-tying hit with a single up the middle to clear the bags.
A KK McCrary walk and hit by pitch issued to Amelia Leach loaded the bases with two outs. Aubrie Lisenby knocked an infield hit to deep short to give Auburn a 3-2 lead. A wild pitch scored a fourth run before a Rose Roach infield single brough in the fifth and final run of the frame.
The Cowgirls continued to battle as a pair of doubles in the fifth and three singles in the sixth manufactured two runs to cut the Auburn lead to 5-4.
Auburn yet again answered the call with a big inning. Pinch hitter AnnaLea Adams knocked a one-out double followed by a Smith bunt single and stolen base to put two in scoring position for the top of the lineup.
Peralta plated the first insurance run with a sacrifice fly to center. Auburn followed with three straight singles from Wohlers, McCrary and Skylar Elkins to plate four runs and build a 10-4 lead.
The insurance was needed as McNeese did not go away quietly, using a bases-clearing triple in the seventh to plate two runs. Rainey forced a pop up to Lech to close the game, picking up the save to clinch the Tiger win.
Geurin was credited the win in relief, going 3.2 innings for the Tigers. She was tagged for seven hits and a walk but allowed just two runs. She struck out one in the appearance. Rainey went 1.1 innings of relief, giving up three hits and two runs in her successful save attempt.
Chalea Clemmons earned the start, tossing two innings for the Tigers. She was tagged for two walks, two hits and two runs while also striking out a pair.
UP NEXT
Auburn continues the Jane B. Moore Memorial on Saturday with another doubleheader slate. The Tigers take on Louisiana at 3 p.m. CT. A rematch with McNeese will follow approximately 35 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Both contests are available on the SEC Network+.