AUBURN, Ala. – Fueled by strong pitching performances by Maddie Penta and Annabelle Widra, No. 25 Auburn softball (9-2-1) opened the Jane B. Moore Memorial tournament on Saturday with wins over Northwestern (7-6) and USC Upstate (8-8) at Jane B. Moore Field.
Recording her third consecutive shutout, Penta carried Auburn to a 1-0 victory over the Wildcats to open Saturday's doubleheader. USC Upstate took a 4-1 lead in the second inning, but Widra was untouchable in relief, giving Auburn a chance to comeback for a 10-4 victory.
"Just a phenomenal job in the circle from both Maddie (Penta) and Annabelle (Widra)," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We found a way to win in that first game against a tough pitcher. We kept battling at the plate in that second game. I like how we continued to compete. Annabelle did a fantastic job giving us a chance to win that game."
Penta improved to 4-2 on the season with her effort versus Northwestern. For the fourth straight game, the right-hander recorded double-digit strikeouts as she closed the game with 10. She scattered four hits and one walk in the start.
Finding herself in trouble early, the Wildcats had two in scoring position with no outs in the first before Penta recorded three straight strikeouts to retire the side. The Wildcats also had a chance in the top of the seventh, leading off with a triple. Rose Roach fielded a ground ball at second and fired to the plate as catcher Aubrie Lisenby applied the tag to preserve the shutout.
Standing second in all-time career wins with 65, Penta needs just three more wins to break Kaylee Carlson's program record. Penta has also moved to fourth in school history with 17 career shutouts.
Auburn's lone run came in the fourth inning as Nelia Peralta led off with a walk before being lifted for freshman Thalia Martin. Martin moved herself to third off a pair of groundouts. Northwestern was poised to get out of the inning, but an errant throw to first brought Martin home to give Auburn its decisive run.
The Tigers had to come-from-behind in their 10-4 victory over Upstate. An RBI double in the first inning gave Auburn an advantage, but Upstate loaded the bases with no outs in the second, forcing the Tigers to bring in Widra. The junior struck out two before the Spartans knocked a grand slam by Denver Lauer to take a 4-1 lead. It would be the only hit Widra would allow in her six innings of relief.
Auburn's comeback bid started in the bottom of the second as Skylar Elkins slugged a two-run home run, the first of her collegiate career. It was a Peralta's two-run homer in the bottom of the third that flipped the scoreboard in Auburn's favor. Roach beat out an two-out infield single to keep the inning alive and plated Makayla Packer to push the lead to 6-4.
It was a monster inning for the Tigers in the fourth as two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with no outs. A bases-loaded walk issued to Anna Wohlers plated the first run of the inning before Lech drove in a pair with a single to left center. A sacrifice fly from Packer capped the four-run frame.
Widra did not allow another Spartan to reach base after the second inning and closed the game with four strikeouts to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Auburn has another doubleheader slate on deck to close the Jane B. Moore Memorial on Sunday. The Tigers face North Texas at noon before a rematch with USC Upstate at 3 p.m. CT. Both contests are available on the SEC Network+.