Columbia, Mo. -- Mizzou Softball fell to No. 8 Auburn in its first conference home game of the season, 14-6 in five innings. With the loss, Mizzou moves to 21-6 on the season with a 4-3 mark in conference play. Auburn pushed past Mizzou by plating nine runs over the first three innings of the contest.
Already facing a 4-0 deficit after the top of the first inning, Mizzou battled back in the bottom half of the frame. Freshman infielder Amanda Sanchez (West Covina, Calif.) came to the plate with runners on second and third and sent a pitch deep over the right-centerfield wall for a three-run homerun. Sanchez has three homeruns over the last two games, and is second on the team with eight homers on the year.
Auburn struck again in the top of the third, putting yet another crooked number up on the scoreboard. AUplated five runs on three hits and were aided by two errors from Mizzou in the inning. In the bottom of the inning, catcher Kirsten Mack (Riverside, Calif.) launched a three-run bomb of her own to put the Tigers back within striking distance.
Despite scoring six runs on two swings of the bat, Mizzou's hopes of a comeback were thwarted as Auburn continued to pile on the runs. Auburn scored five runs over the fourth and fifth innings to draw the game to a close.
Though the homeruns from Sanchez and Mack were not deciding factors in the game, they were monumental in their own right. Through 27 games, Mizzou has launched 38 homeruns on the year -- good for 10thall-time in school history. Being roughly halfway through the year, this year's Tigers have a chance to catch the astronomical 82 homeruns hit by Mizzou in the 2005 season.
Mizzou is back in action Saturday, March 28, for the second game of the series. Mizzou and Auburn will meet again with first pitch set for 7 p.m. CT, live on the SEC Network. For all the latest on Mizzou Softball, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouSoftball.