SOFTBALL

AU picks up 10th SEC win

Kelsey Cartwright’s sacrifice fly scored Caitlin Stangl to break a tie game in the fourth inning as the 22nd-ranked Auburn softball team defeated Mississippi State, 5-3, Saturday afternoon.

Auburn improved to 31-9 overall and 10-6 in the Southeastern Conference, while Mississippi State fell to 20-20 overall and 8-7 in the SEC.

Auburn and Mississippi State conclude the series today at 1 p.m.

Auburn had four players with at least two hits and four different players with one RBI in Saturday’s win over the Bulldogs.

Angel Bunner improved to 11-3 with the victory. Bunner started and went six and one-third innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Lauren Schmalz recorded the final two outs of the game to earn her second save of the season.

Kylie Vry started and took the loss to fall to 8-9. Vry went four innings, allowing four runs, all earned, on nine hits with no walks and no strikeouts. Misty Flesher relieved Vry to start the fifth and went three innings, allowing one run, earned, on three hits with no walks and one strikeout.

The Tigers wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Amber Harrison singled home Morgan Estell in the top of the first inning.

Auburn increased its lead in the third inning with two runs crossing the plate, but the Tigers struck right back in the top of the fourth. With one out, Caitlin Stangl reached on an infield single and moved to third on a double to left-center by Estell. Cartwright followed with a sac fly to left that scored Stangl to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead.

After two scoreless innings, the Tigers tacked on another run in the top of the seventh. Harrison led off with a double to center and moved to third on a sac bunt by Guzman. Mavromat followed with a sac fly to center to score Harrison and push the lead to 5-3 for Auburn.

In the bottom of the seventh, after recording the first out of the inning Bunner gave up a pair of singles to Bainbridge and Fisher to put runners at second and first, respectively. Schmalz relieved Bunner following Fisher’s single and fanned Smith on a called third strike for the second out. Schmalz then sealed the victory for the Tigers by forcing Nesbit to foul out to Colton in left field.

TRACK AND FIELD

Tigers win 6 events

Auburn track and field athletes won three more events Saturday at the Seminole Invitational hosted by Florida State, bringing the Tigers’ number of victories during the two-day meet to six.

All three of Saturday’s titles came in the sprints. The Tigers had three of the top four finishers in the women’s 200 meters, with senior Sheniqua Ferguson taking the top spot with a time of 22.92 that ranks No. 2 in the NCAA this year. Senior Joanna Atkins was second in 23.28 seconds, while senior Cache Armbrister was fourth in 23.72.

Atkins and Ferguson ran the first two legs of Auburn’s 4x100-meter relay team that won with a time of 43.84 seconds that was just .04 seconds off their season-best time from last weekend. Sophomore Kai Selvon and junior Nivea Smith ran the third and fourth legs, respectively.

The Tigers’ other victory came in the men’s 200 meters, where sophomore Harry Adams took the title with a time of 20.84 seconds into a headwind, which is just one tenth of a second off his season best that ranks tied for eighth nationally.

In addition, Auburn had three of the top five finishers in the women’s 100 meters. Smith was second in 11.57 seconds, while junior Ashley Cruder (11.72) and junior CeCe Williams (11.92) were fourth and fifth, respectively.