Madelyn Fletcher at the plate vs. Troy
Siddharth Gaulee/ULM Photo Services
3
ULM ULM 12-4
7
Winner Auburn AU 15-1
ULM ULM
12-4
3
Final
7
Auburn AU
15-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
ULM ULM 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 4
Auburn AU 0 1 0 3 0 3 X 7 9 1

W: Maddie Penta (7-0) L: Chavarria, Adrianna (1-2) S: Shelby Lowe (3)

Game Recap: Softball |

ULM Softball Falls 7-3 in Battle with No. 21 Auburn

Warhawks’ 3-1 lead was only time Tigers trailed in any of the five games in the Plainsman Invitational

AUBURN, Ala. –  The ULM softball team (12-4) battled No. 21 Auburn in the final game of the Plainsman Invitational before falling 7-3 at Jane B. Moore Field Sunday. The Tigers trailed for the first time during the five-game weekend competition when the Warhawks took a 3-1 lead in the third inning. Auburn rallied with three runs in the fourth and added three more off a sixth-inning home run for the final margin.
 
"Our pitchers did great again, they kept us in the ballgame, and Madeline Fletcher and Lourdes Bacon, they had a couple of good hits, great momentum getters for us," said ULM head coach Molly Fichtner. "The fact we were in the lead was a highlight. We feel like we're right there."
 
After going three-up, three-down to start the game and stranding a Warhawk in the second inning, Jacelyn Buck drew a walk to get on base in the third. Caley McGuff pinch ran for Buck, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and got to third on Lourdes Bacon's single. A Korie Kreps' ground out plated the Warhawks' first run to tie the game at 1-all.
 
Kennedy Johnson drew another walk off Madison Penta (7-0), for just the 10th given up by Penta this season. Johnson swiped second and both she and Bacon scored when Madelyn Fletcher smacked a single through the right side on a one-ball, two-strike count. Fletcher went 2-3 vs. the Tigers with her two RBI in the third inning and single in the second.
 
One of the other highlights Fichtner mentioned was the job by Adrianna Chavarria in the bottom of third. Chavarria came in as a reliever with two Tigers on base and no outs. After a walk, she closed the door on Auburn, getting a popup and striking out the next two batters.
 
"For her to come in and relieve that inning, with two on and the heart of Auburn lineup up, and she ended up getting us out of it," Fichtner said. "It was unbelievable and really cool to see her in that environment. She's been more of a starter for us, and for her to relieve that inning, that was great to see."
 
Untimely errors throughout the day helped Auburn come out on top as the Warhawks committed a season-high four errors. The 21st-ranked Tigers' first run in the bottom of the second reached base on a fielding error and came home on a two-out single.
 
A three-hit fourth inning put Auburn back on top 4-3. A lead-off double, and the addition of another Tiger baserunner after a Warhawk throwing error, plated one run. With one out and two, a second double put Auburn up 4-3.
 
In the circle, Tiger pitcher Shelby Lowe came in for the fifth inning earned her third save of the season, allowing no hits in three innings of work. Penta got her third win of the season while Chavarria was tagged with the loss.
 
Back to the top of the Tigers' order, they started with a double and drew a walk. With two outs, Lindsey Garcia hit a home run to add three more runs for the Auburn win.
 
"The repeated message is that our defense needs to figure it out," said ULM head coach Molly Fichtner. "We have got to be able to find a way to make the outs. When you're playing a team like Auburn, if you make four errors, like we did today, you're bringing four more of their batters up."
 
Auburn finished the weekend undefeated with a 5-0 mark with the Warhawks going 2-2 on the weekend.
 
"Auburn was incredible and they were wonderful to play," Fichtner said. "They were a great matchup for us and realistically, we haven't seen a team of their caliber just yet, so we knew we were going to be a little nervous. We were calmer and a lot more fearless in game two. We most definitely played better today than we did on Friday. Looking at it big picture-wise, we're not close to our capability, which is incredible."
 
The Warhawks continue their road trip at Alabama State Tue., March 1 at 2 p.m. CT and then Wed., March 2 at Jacksonville State for the third meeting this season. The game at Jacksonville State will be available on ESPN+. Live stats will be available on the softball schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
 
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