AUBURN, Ala. – Powered behind strong innings in the circle and power hitting from the underclassmen, Auburn softball remained undefeated in its fall exhibition slate with a pair of victories over Gulf Coast State and Sneed State.
Auburn opened Sunday's doubleheader sweep with a 9-0 victory over Gulf Coast State. The pitching trio of Shelby Lowe, KK Dismukes and Samantha Yarbrough combined for the shutout. Each pitcher tossed a designated number of innings in the game.
Lowe earned the starting nod, holding Gulf Coast State hitless through the first three innings. Lowe fanned six in the outing. Dismukes took over the middle innings, leaving a pair of runners stranded in both innings worked. Yarbrough tossed the final two innings, retiring six straight to close the game.
Makayla Packer led off the Auburn scoring with a solo home run in the first Tiger at-bat of the game. Riley McNemar continued the Tiger onslaught with a two-run blast in the bottom of the second. Carlee McCondichie continued the second inning scoring, reaching on a single before scoring on a Rose Roach double.
Aspyn Godwin drew a walk to leadoff the Tiger third. Aggressive base running and a wild pitch allowed a run to score to extend the Auburn lead to 5-0.
With two runners on in the fourth, Godwin drove in a run with an RBI single to right. Auburn used a wild pitch and a Gulf Coast error to score two additional runs in the inning, pushing the lead to 8-0.
The final Tiger run came in the fifth inning. Maia Engelkes led off the inning with a double before ultimately scoring on a sacrifice fly from McCondichie.
In Sunday's finale, Auburn spread the offense, plating eight runs off 10 hits. In the circle, the Tiger pitching trio of Lowe, Yarbrough and Dismukes combined to allow just one hit. All four of Snead State's runs were scored during situational defensive drills.
Lowe started the nightcap, retiring six straight with help of three strikeouts. Yarbrough tossed the middle innings, picking up three strikeouts of her own. Dismukes tossed the final two innings, surrendering the sole Snead State hit of the game. Dismukes fanned one batter on her two innings of work.
Auburn led off game two with a double from Sydney Cox followed by a Lindsey Garcia single. Bri Ellis cleared the bases with a double to put the Tigers up 2-0. In the bottom of the second, Auburn plated four runs highlighted by a two-run, bases-loaded single from Cox.
Rylie Moody led off the third with a double before coming home to score on a Cox single. Kelsey Schmidt reached base in the fourth with help of a two-out error. Maddie Majors drove in the final Tiger run after dropping a single into right.
Auburn returns to fall ball action on Sunday, Oct. 10, hosting Auburn University Montgomery for a scheduled 10-inning contest at Jane B. Moore Field.