Special to the News

02/21 at 12:26 AM

The No. 2 Auburn equestrian team defeated New Mexico State, 14-4, on Saturday at the Auburn Equestrian Center.

The Tigers improved to 8-2, while the Aggies fell to 4-4.

“This was exactly the kind of rides we’ve been looking to turn in at home,” said Auburn head coach Greg Williams. “We’re going to be in good shape tomorrow if we can keep the same intensity up.”

Auburn won Hunt Seat Equitation on the Flat, 3-1, as MVP Chelsea Anheuser defeated Marisa Bernal, 92-91, Katie Breedlove defeated Laura Bostwick, 88-87, and Ali Loprete defeated Jennifer Friend, 85-70. New Mexico State’s winner was Chelsae Keyes over Mallory Kolpin, 88-86. Auburn’s Lindsay Portela and New Mexico State’s Brianna Raab tied at 83.
Auburn won Hunt Seat Equitation over Fences, 4-1, with MVP Grace Socha defeating Keyes, 89-77, Kolpin over Raab, 69-40, Anna Schierholz over Bostwick, 87-84, and Elise Fraza over Amy Lang, 88-73. Bernal topped Dottie Grubb, 79-78, for the Aggies.

The Tigers won Western Horsemanship, 4-1, with MVP Kristin Hansen defeating Chelsea Campbell, 79.5-78, Amy Bohan over Megan Gould, 79-76.5, Kylie Miller over Rachael Krause, 75-70.5, and Casey Fowler over Pamela Evans, 76.5-75.5. Codi Blinkerd picked up New Mexico State’s win, 77-76.5, over Mary Casey.

Auburn won Western Reining, 3-1, as MVP Lyndsey Jordan defeated Krause, 77.5-76, Hansen defeated Breanne Bertrand 76.5-76 and Jillian Fuller defeated Jennifer Friend 73-68.5. Kate Goodwin picked up New Mexico State’s win, 74.5-73, over Jessica Jones. Auburn’s Indy Roper and New Mexico State’s Rebecca McReynolds tied at 74.

Auburn returns to action today at 1 p.m. at the Auburn Equestrian Center as the Tigers ride against No. 4 Oklahoma State. The meet was rescheduled from Jan. 31.

Softball tops CMU, Nebraska on Saturday
Caitlin Stangl’s first home run of the season sparked a rally that gave the Auburn softball team a 6-2 win over Central Michigan after the Tigers outdueled Nebraska in a 2-1 win over the Cornhuskers on Saturday at the Tiger Invitational.

Auburn improved to 6-3 with the pair of wins and moved to 3-0 at the Tiger Invitational.

Central Michigan fell to 0-3, while Nebraska dropped to 6-4.

“I’m really proud of our team for coming back against a tough Central Michigan team,” Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. “Our pitchers, Angel (Bunner) and Anna (Thompson), really came through for us against Nebraska in a very close game that could have gone either way.”

Bunner (2-0) earned her second win of the day after going 3 1/3 innings in relief of starter Jenee Loree. Bunner scattered three hits and did not allow a run to score. She also struck out five and did not issue a walk.

CMU starter Kari Seddon (0-2) took the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits in five innings.

Central Michigan took advantage of an Auburn error to plate the first run of the game. Brogan Darwin reached when Amber Harrison dropped the throw from second on her ground ball. Darwin moved to third when Kyndall White booted a ground ball at third allowing Summer Knoop to reach.

Amanda Patrick gave Central Michigan a 1-0 lead with a single to right that plated Darwin from third.

Auburn rallied in the top of the sixth, taking advantage of two Central Michigan errors. Centerfielder Amber Olejniczak dropped White’s line drive to open the inning and Harrison followed with a double to the wall in center.

White scored on the play to make it a 2-1 CMU lead, while Harrison advanced to third on the relay throw home. Stangl then uncorked a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

It was Stangl’s first home run of the season and the first non-grand slam home run for the Tigers in 2010.

Still in the sixth, Lauren Guzman reached on a booted ground ball by the shortstop and came around to score on Lindsey Harrelson’s double to center which made it 4-2 Auburn.

The rally continued with a two run single by Kelley Smiley. Harrelson and Krista Clyde (infield single) scored to push the Auburn lead to 6-2.

Against Nebraska, Bunner and Thompson combined to lead the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Cornhuskers.

Bunner came in to relieve starter Lauren Schmalz who left due to injury after recording only one out in the game. Bunner answered the call by throwing 3 2/3 innings, allowing one run, unearned, on four hits. Bunner walked one and did not record a strikeout.

Thompson threw the final three innings to earn her first save of the season. Thompson did not allow a hit and walked just two while registering seven strikeouts.

Robin Mackin (3-2) took the loss for Nebraska. Mackin went six innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Nebraska got on the scoreboard first. Heidi Foland led off the fourth inning with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball.

Foland then came around to score on a single by Ashley Guile which gave Nebraska a 1-0 lead.

Auburn responded in the bottom half of the fourth with a lead-off single from Harrison and a double by White that put runners on second and third with no outs. The Tigers plated their first run of the game when catcher Kirby Wright mishandled the relay after a swinging third strike and allowed the ball to roll to the wall, allowing Harrison to score from third and tie the game at 1.

White moved to third on the play and came in to score on a bunt single by Lauren Guzman, which gave Auburn a 2-1 lead.

Bunner was then relieved by Thompson to start the fifth inning. Thompson made quick work of the Huskers, striking out seven of the 11 batters faced to seal the one-run victory for the Tigers.

Men’s tennis gets past Southern Miss
The No. 28 Auburn men’s tennis squad hosted the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and came away with the 6-1 victory outdoors Saturday at the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center.

“I was really happy with our doubles today,” head coach Eric Shore said. “We changed up our line a little bit and saw some positive things from the team today. We felt like we had enough depth to handle it and we did.

The Tigers are now 3-3 on the season as Southern Miss falls to 2-2. Auburn keeps its series record with the Golden Eagles perfect, improving to 12-0.

The Tigers came away with the doubles point, winning all three matches.

At the No. 1 spot, junior Tim Puetz and freshman Andreas Mies defeated Jan Burmeister and Julien Roussel, 8-4. A pair of Alex’s in Alexander Sajonz and Alex Stamchev followed with an 8-5 win over Patricio Alvarado and Markus Wessinghage at the No. 2 position.

Closing out doubles competition was freshmen Tim Hewitt and Lucas Lopasso. The pair topped brothers Diego Machuca and Oscar Machuca in a tight, 9-7 match.

Looking to use this match to gain experience, Shore had six freshmen represent the Tigers in singles competition. Oliver Strecker recorded his fourth win of the season, defeating Strate Krstevski in two sets, 6-1, 6-1, at the No. 2 spot to finish first. 

Sajonz followed with a quick 6-3, 6-1 win over Diego Machuca to pick up his third win of the year. Mies continues to have a successful first year, coming away with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Wessinghage.

Hewitt had a tough first set against Alvarado in the No. 1 singles position, coming away with the tight, 7-5 win. He turned it on in the second set, topping his opponent, 6-2. Also having a tough battle was Lopasso, who defeated Burmeister in three sets (4-6, 6-4, 10-8).

“I was very happy with our freshmen today,” Shore said. “They got wins that they really needed as we head into conference play, which is a very tough part of our schedule coming up.”

The Tigers travel to Tulsa, Okla., on Feb. 28 to take on the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The match is set for noon and will be played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.