Auburn evens series with 9-5 victory at No. 16 LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. – Striking with the most run production in a conference game this season, Auburn softball's offense exploded for a 9-5 victory at No. 16 LSU to even the series Saturday night at Tiger Park.
 
In one of its best offensive performances this season, Auburn (27-20, 7-16 SEC) knocked 10 hits and pushed across nine runs en route to its first victory against LSU (30-18, 12-11 SEC) in Baton Rouge since 2015. It was the most runs scored in conference play for the Tigers since a 10-5 victory at Tennessee on April 6, 2019.  
 
"We talked about it this morning as a team," said head coach Mickey Dean. "The numbers were going to add up. It's been too long that the hits haven't been falling for us. Mentally, it has been really challenging. We can't quit. We can't give up because the numbers would add up. We were able to get 10 hits off a great LSU pitching staff."   
 
Returning to form after missing two weeks of action, Makayla Packer went 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and a home run. The freshman scored twice and picked up three RBI. Maddison Koepke turned in a multi-hit performance going 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. Makenna Dowell and Alyssa Rivera also strung together multiple hits as the duo combined for four singles.
 
It was a group effort for the Tiger pitching staff as four different pitchers saw time in the circle. Maddie Penta earned the win to improve to 9-8 on the season. In her 3.1 innings in the circle, she allowed two runs off four hits, while striking out six to surpass 100 strikeouts in her freshman season. With Penta reaching the milestone, Auburn now has two freshman pitchers with over 100 strikeouts in the same season for the first time in program history.
 
Shelby Lowe earned the first save of her collegiate career. She faced the final two LSU batters. The lefty forced a ground ball and fanned one. KK Dismukes and Lexie Handley also saw time in the circle in relief.
 
Penta and LSU starter Maribeth Gorsuch was amid a pitching duel through the first three innings as the pair held both offenses in check with just three combined hits allowed.
 
Dowell led off the fourth with a single up the middle. Lindsey Garcia moved pinch runner Kaylee Horton into scoring position with the first of her two sacrifice bunts in Saturday's game. Packer got just enough of a pitch to carry it over the left field wall for a two-run home run, her third of the season.
 
Koepke and Aspyn Godwin put runners on the corners with a pair of singles to shortstop to chase Gorsuch out of the game. After knocking down a line drive from Rivera, reliver Ali Kilponen misplayed the ball, allowing Rivera to reach and Koepke to score the third Auburn run of the inning.
 
LSU would answer in the bottom of the fourth, cutting Auburn's lead to 3-2 with a Georgia Clark two-run homer to straightaway center.
 
Auburn's bats responded in the fifth as Sydney Cox set the table with a leadoff walk. Dowell knocked an infield single to short before Garcia laid down perfectly executed sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position.
 
A passed ball allowed the first Auburn run of the inning to score. Packer would push Auburn's lead to 5-2 with an infield bunt single back to the circle. Koepke followed with a triple to right center and would come home to score with help of aggressive base running from Paige Geraghty, who forced a run down between first and second on a fielder's choice play.
 
LSU led off the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back singles and cur Auburn's lead to 7-3 with a groundout back to reliver Dismukes. Morgan Cummins picked up a single through the left side to slice Auburn's lead to three runs. With two out after a walk, Handley entered in the game in relief and forced a ground ball to third to limit the damage.
 
With Packer standing at second after getting on board via walk and moving into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, an LSU error in the seventh inning on a ground ball to second allowed Packer to score. Rivera plated another key Auburn insurance run with a two-out RBI single to deep short.
 
LSU did not go down quietly. With a runner in scoring position, Amanda Doyle knocked an RBI single up the middle to cut Auburn's lead to 8-5. Clark followed with a double to right center to put two in scoring position and bring the tying run on deck, forcing Auburn to bring Lowe into the game for a relief appearance.
 
Lowe forced a ground ball back to first before for fanning her lone batter of the game to successfully pick up the save and even the series.
 
ON DECK
Auburn will go for the series victory in Sunday's regular-season finale. First pitch on the SEC Network+ is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.