AUBURN, Ala. – Sophomore Maddie Penta's iron-woman performance was paired with balanced offense as No. 20 Auburn softball (20-1) swept Toledo and North Carolina A&T in Saturday's doubleheader at Jane B. Moore Field.
The Tigers opened the second day of the Jane B. Moore Memorial tournament with its ninth run-rule victory as Auburn knocked off Toledo (4-10) in five innings, 9-0. The Tigers closed Saturday, grinding out a 6-2 win over North Carolina A&T (9-9).
"I thought we played well," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We did a lot of good things. As always, we'll go back and see what we need to work on, but overall, I thought we pitched it well, played pretty good defense and stayed within ourselves at the plate so we were able to hit the ball."
Auburn extended its win streak to 12 consecutive games and remains a perfect 14-0 at home. Auburn's 20-1 start to the season is the best since 2016.
Penta earned both victories in Auburn's doubleheader to improve to 12-0 in the circle. Penta has tossed a total of 22.0 innings going back to Auburn's midweek victory at Georgia State. Over that span, Penta has not allowed a run to score and has struck out 43 total batters.
Auburn used a six-run fourth inning to catapulted itself to a run-rule victory over Toledo. Sophomore Sydney Cox drove in a third of the Tigers runs as she went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored. Freshman Nelia Peralta also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a home run. Making her first collegiate start, sophomore Paige Geraghty was a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored.
Tossing four innings, Penta earned the victory as she struck out seven. She gave up just one hit and a walk. Junior KK Dismukes tossed the final inning as she issued one walk before striking out three.
In Auburn's second contest, North Carolina A&T used a two-run homer from Icess Tresvik to cut Auburn's lead to one, but the Tigers push across late runs to secure the win.
Junior Carlee McCondichie went 3-for-3 with two home runs, including one inside-the-park homer. McCondichie scored three times and was credited with three RBI. Freshman Rose Roach also went 2-for-2 at the plate with two RBI.
In the circle, Penta allowed just one hit in her four innings of work. Penta fanned 10 of the 13 batters she faced for her fifth double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Sophomore Shelby Lowe tossed three innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs. She struck out six in the outing.
In a special pregame ceremony, Auburn softball's On Deck Club presented a $25,000 check as the first donation to the Jane B. Moore Endowment for Softball Excellence.
TOLEDO SCORING SUMMARY
Auburn loaded the bases in the top of the first with a pair of singles and a walk, junior Lindsey Garcia drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Auburn's leadoff batter reached in the second as senior Aspyn Godwin drew a walk. Back-to-back singles loaded the bases for the Tigers. Cox broke open the game with a two-run single up the middle.
The Tigers were held in check until their six-run fourth inning. Godwin got the Tigers going with a monster home run to left field to lead off the inning. After singles from McCondichie and Geraghty put runners on the corners, the duo perfected a double steal to push the lead to 5-0
Cox struck again with a double to left center before Peralta homered to center for an 8-0 Tiger advantage. Auburn's pinch hitters manufactured the ninth run of the game as sophomore Kelsey Schmidt singled to left center before scoring on a Rose Roach double.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T SCORING SUMMARY
After a quiet first inning, freshman Bri Ellis led off the second with a towering home run over the scoreboard in left center. With one on via walk, McCondichie sent a line drive over the fence in right to extend the lead to 3-0.
Auburn would hold its lead until the top of the fourth as Tresvik's two-run homer pulled the Aggies within one.
A McCondichie single, Aggie error on a fielder's choice and passed ball put two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth. Roach plated an insurance run with an RBI single to shallow center.
With two outs in the fifth, McCondichie knocked an inside the park home run that ricochet off the right center wall. Geraghty walked and moved to second on an errant throw from the plate back to the pitching circle. Roach drove in her second run of the game with an infield single to second.
UP NEXT
Auburn closes out the Jane B. Moore Memorial tournament on Sunday against Chattanooga. First pitch on the SEC Network+ is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. CT.