AUBURN, Ala. (EETV)- Auburn University Softball hosted the Plainsman Invitational at Jane B. Moore field this past weekend. The Tigers finished with a 3-1 record in their Saturday and Sunday matchups.
Auburn struggled to find much of an offensive presence in their Saturday afternoon game against the Drake Bulldogs. This came in large part to an impressive performance by the Bulldogs' pitcher, Nicole Newman, who held the Tigers scoreless through the bottom of the fifth inning. Not to be outdone, Auburn's Makayla Martin pitched a complete game and held Drake scoreless. Auburn finally got on the board following an RBI by Taylon Snow in the fifth, and a homer by Tannon Snow later in the game. The Tigers finished off the Bulldogs 2-0.
In the second of the two Saturday games, Auburn faced off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Though having much more success putting points on the board, the Tigers had a more difficult time slowing down the Red Raiders. Auburn scored first off a two-run homer from Kendall Veach early, but the Red Raiders responded by taking the lead and never looking back. Auburn made a push late as they took advantage of two errors by the Red Raiders, but Texas Tech would eventually right the ship and finish Auburn off 5-4.
The Tigers responded well on Sunday in their doubleheader against Furman and UAB. It was difficult to see any sign of a hangover from the Saturday matchups, as Auburn's bats were on fire in both games, pummeling through Furman 15-1 and UAB 11-3.
The game against Furman saw Auburn rack up four home runs, as Casey McCrackin, Alyssa Rivera, and Tannon Snow (who had two) sparked the impressive offensive showing. Solid pitching from Lexie Handley and Ashlee Swindle allowed the Tigers to extend and keep the lead throughout, allowing Furman only one unearned run.
Auburn saw much of the same success later that day against UAB behind the bats of some familiar faces, as Tannon Snow, Casey McCrackin, and Alyssa Rivera allowed the Tigers to crawl back after falling behind early. Both Snow and Rivera ended with two home runs on the day.
The No. 20 Auburn Tigers have another weekend packed with action on the way, starting Friday night against Villanova, and having five more games before Sunday night.
