N0. 20 Auburn Takes Final Game Of The Series From No. 11 Georgia
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April 17, 2005
ATHENS, Ga. -- The 20th-ranked Auburn softball team rapped out 11 hits en route to an 8-4 victory over No. 11 Georgia Sunday in the three-game series finale at the Georgia Soccer/Softball Complex.
Eight of Auburn's nine starters had at least one hit and three had two runs batted in. The Tigers put runs on the board in the first, third and fifth innings to snap Georgia's nine-game win streak.
"This was a big win for us," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "Georgia is a balanced team and we refocused after two losses Saturday and played a complete game today. Holly threw well and our offense really responded."
The Tigers (39-13 overall, 13-7 Southeastern Conference) hit two out of the park in a three-run third inning. Sara Dean hit her seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot over the center field fence off reliever Michelle Green, to start off the frame's scoring. Three batters later, Anne Norton, getting the start at first base, cleared the right center field fence for her fifth home run of the season and career-high 12th RBI.
Norton's home run chased Green, bringing Kasi Carroll back into the game. Carroll had come on in relief of Katie Griffith in the first and allowed two inherited runners to score. Both were charged to Griffith, who worked just 2 1/3 innings -- later re-entering -- walking three and striking out three in her 13th start of the season.
The Tigers coupled together a trio of singles and one double in the fifth to finish off the team's scoring. Paige Jones, Sara Ghezzi and Kristina McCain all singled while Lolani Alvarez doubled as the Tigers put three on the board off Carroll. For Alvarez, it marked her fifth RBI of the series after driving in four Saturday on the strength of two home runs.
"Sara and Anne really started it off for us," Deese said. "Our two runs in the first were very valuable to get us in the game. Then those two took their pitches and hit home runs. It's very important to make statements like those in a game against the conference's top team."
Jones, Ghezzi and Ashley Griffin all had two hits to pace the Tigers. McCain, Dean and Jones each finished with two RBI.
Holly Currie pitched effectively for the Tigers to improve to 16-8 on the year. She settled down after allowing two runs in the first and ended the game with four strikouts while allowing nine hits and walking two. The Bulldogs did score two more in the fifth -- one unearned -- but weren't enough to knock Currie out of the game.
Green, by virtue of her three runs allowed in the third, picked up the loss and fell to 19-3 on the season. The loss snapped Green's 14-game win streak. Three Georgia (41-9, 22-2) pitchers walked five and struck out seven.
The Tigers next hit the field Saturday at Jane B. Moore Field when they host LSU at 12 p.m. CT. The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday, then a solo game Sunday to conclude the three-game series.
TIGER NOTES: Sara Dean started her 200th straight game ... The last time Dean failed to start a game came March 23, 2002 in the second game of a doubleheader against Arkansas ... She did, however, play in the game ... The last game she sat out altogether came March 10, 2002 against Providence ... Dean has now played in 233 games, starting 228 ... Auburn has hit multiple home runs in 12 games this season ... Auburn has a home run in 34 of its 52 games this season ... The Tigers wore their blue uniforms and are now 22-5 in them this season.