Auburn University’s softball team split its games on the second day of the Jane B. Moore Memorial Tournament, held at Jane B. Moore Field. The Tigers secured a 10-4 win over Troy University before falling to No. 11-ranked Virginia Tech by a score of 9-5.
Co-head coach Chris Malveaux commented on the team’s performance: “I loved that we were more competitive from the jump,” Malveaux said. “Troy did a good job to keep us off enough to get through innings. We had chances to end that game early, but I also felt like we were competing at the plate and took care of the ball on the defensive side. We left a lot of runners on base against Virginia Tech. They put the ball in play hard. We ran out of windows to work through with them. Ella (Harrison) did incredibly well, but she lost her stuff right at the end. Hindsight, I should have pulled the trigger on a pitching change sooner. They were able to come up with the big hits with runners on, and we’ve got to do better at doing the same.”
In their victory over Troy, Auburn’s offense was effective early, scoring five runs in both the second and third innings. McKaela Walker hit her second grand slam of the season during this stretch, giving Auburn an early lead.
Freshman Ava Ratliff contributed with an RBI double, while senior Destiny Rodriguez added another run with a sacrifice fly. AnnaLea Adams homered for two more runs, though only two counted due to a celebration infraction.
Troy responded in the fourth inning with three runs after Kalee Rochinski hit a two-run home run aided by four hits and an Auburn error.
Redshirt freshman Blayne Godfrey made her first collegiate start for Auburn and pitched 2.1 innings, allowing one run off one hit and two walks while striking out one batter. Abby Herndon earned her fourth win in relief by pitching 3.2 innings and recording one strikeout.
Against Virginia Tech later in the evening, Auburn took an initial 2-0 lead following Ma’Nia Womack’s two-run home run in the second inning. The Hokies rallied back starting in the fourth inning and ultimately overtook Auburn with five runs scored in the sixth inning.
Ava Ratliff finished this game 2-for-3 at bat with three RBIs thanks to her own home run that briefly gave Auburn back its lead after five innings.
Ella Harrison started as pitcher for Auburn against Virginia Tech and struck out three over 5.2 innings but was charged with her second loss of the season.
The Tigers will continue tournament play Saturday with another doubleheader: they face Virginia Tech again at 1:30 p.m., followed by USC Upstate at 4 p.m., both available via SEC Network+. Fans can listen locally or stream coverage online through official channels.
