Special to the News

Freshman Morgan Murphy’s two-out double off the wall in center in the top of the seventh lifted the Auburn softball team to a 2-0 victory over Morehead State in the final game of the Tiger Invitational on Sunday afternoon.

Auburn improved to 10-1 with the win and claimed the tournament championship with a 4-0 record. Murphy was named the tournament’s most valuable player after hitting .455 (5-for-11) with seven RBI, a double, two home runs and two runs scored.

Anna Thompson (5-1) earned the win in relief. Thompson threw the final 2 2/3 innings without allowing a hit or a walk. Thompson fanned six of the eight batters she faced.

Going into the top of the seventh the Tigers were hitless in a scoreless game. Kyndall White led off the frame with a single through the left side to break up the no-hit bid. A sac bunt by Tatiana Fernandez put White at second.

With two outs, Lauren Guzman singled to shallow left and moved to second on the relay throw, while White had to hold at third. After fouling off four pitches on a 2-2 count, Murphy laced a double off the wall in center to push White and Guzman across and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

For the tournament, Auburn had five players earn all-tournament honors including Murphy. Thompson was named the tournament’s most valuable pitcher after posting a 3-0 record with a 1.02 ERA in 13.2 innings of work.

Men’s tennis rallies past Central Florida
The No. 29 Auburn men’s tennis team defeated the University of Central Florida, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. Playing their first outdoor action of the spring, the men took two doubles matches and three singles points to earn their third win of the season.

Taking the first doubles win for the Tigers, Alexey Tsyrenov and Lukas Marsoun took an 8-6 win over Marc Rocafort and Blaze Schwartz. Finding the next win and the doubles point for the team, Milan Krnjetin and Michel Monteiro earned a 9-8 (7-1) match against Tarek Ben Soltane and Eugene
Dolgovykh.

First to finish singles play for Auburn was Tim Puetz, who took a 6-4, 6-2 match over Johan Beigart. With his win, Puetz moves to a flawless 4-0 record in singles play for the season.

Tsyrenov took a 6-4, 6-3 win against UCF’s Tarek Ben Soltane to give the Tigers another singles point.

Marsoun picked up another win as he battled to earn a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 match over Blaze Schwartz. Marsoun’s singles point gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead on the day and an overall team victory.

Women’s golf opens spring season today
The No. 10/11 Auburn women’s golf team will open up its 2009 spring season today at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla.

“This is our first tournament of the year and we will see what we’ve got,” said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. “I’m excited to get out there now and see how the team plays.”