COLUMBIA, Mo. – Behind her third shutout of the season, Shelby Lowe carried No. 24/25 Auburn softball (19-8, 1-5 SEC) to its first Southeastern Conference win of the season as the Tigers knocked off No. 18/20 Missouri 3-0 in Sunday’s series finale at Mizzou Softball Stadium.
Lowe held Missouri (24-7, 3-3 SEC) to five hits, holding the power Mizzou offense to one extra-base hit. She struck out 11 and did not issue a free pass to pick up her first victory in conference play.
It was a pitching duel throw the first five innings as Lowe and Missouri’s Jordan Weber held both offenses to a combined four hits.
“In the first game against Jordan Weber and Missouri, we struck out 17 times in a total of nine innings,” said head coach Mickey Dean. “Today, we struck out just four times, so we put pressure on their defense. We had two innings where we got ourselves in a little bit of trouble defensively, but we got out of it. We had really good defense. We had excellent at bats and timely hits to put runs on the board.”
Making just her second start of the season, Maddison Koepke led off the sixth with her second infield single of the game. With two on after Makayla Packer was hit by a pitch, Sydney Cox moved both runners over via a sacrifice bunt.
Missouri made a play at the plate on a Kaylee Horton fielder’s choice for the second out of the inning, but Tyler King delivered the big hit with a two-RBI single up the middle. Makenna Dowell beat out an infield single to second with a diving slide at first base to drive in Auburn’s third run.
The Missouri Tigers led off the home half with a single to first base, but Lowe responded with her 10th strikeout. Catcher Aspyn Godwin immediately threw down to first for a pick off play. Missouri put another runner on board in the bottom of the seventh with a one-out double, but the Tiger defense stepped up again with Lowe’s 11th strikeout and a ground ball slapped back to the circle.
TIGER TRACKS
- Shelby Lowe recorded double-digit strikeouts for the 11th time this season. Her season total stands at 99, which is tied with Renee Sease (1997) for the fifth most by an Auburn freshman in program history.
- This was Auburn’s first shutout victory in SEC play since a 3-0 win at Tennessee on April 7, 2019. It was Auburn’s first victory in Columbia, Mo., since March 29, 2015.
- Makenna Dowell recorded her team-leading sixth multi-hit game of the season. It was the 13th of her career.
- Maddison Koepke recorded her third multi-hit game of her Auburn career behind a season high two hits.
- Tyler King recorded her first multi-RBI game as a Tiger with a career high two RBI. It was her fifth multi-hit game of the season.
ON DECK
It is a short turnaround for the Tigers as Auburn returns to Jane B. Moore Field to face No. 15 Arkansasin a three-game series, which begins on Thursday, April 1 at 5 p.m. CT.