AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 20 Auburn Tigers edged the Drake University softball team, 2-0, Saturday afternoon at the Plainsman Invitational.
Nicole Newman (Madison, Wis.) took the tough loss for Drake (5-3). Newman pitched six innings and allowed two runs on two hits with three walks and 12 strikeouts. Her record moved to 2-2 with the loss.
Newman held Auburn (5-2) hitless until the fifth inning when the Tigers scored their first run. Justus Perry drew a leadoff walk and was replaced by pinch runner, Bree Fornis, who advanced to third base two batters later on Morgan Podany's single. After Podany stole second, Taylor Snow, drove in Perry with a groundout to second.
Auburn added to its lead the next inning when Tannon Show led off with a home run.
Kennedy Frank (Chesterfield, Mo.),
Macy Johnson (Winterset, Iowa),
Alexia Lara (Bettendorf, Iowa),
Hannah Pals (Des Moines, Iowa) and
Mandi Roemmich (West Des Moines, Iowa) each had one hit for the Bulldogs. Lara, who hit a second-inning double and Pals, who reached second in the fifth inning, were Drake's two closet scoring chances. In the seventh, Lara followed Frank after her single, but grounded out into a game-ending double play.
Drake closes its trip to Auburn Sunday morning with a 9 a.m. rematch against Texas Tech, which edged the Bulldogs, 1-0, Friday morning.
