March 28, 2009
Auburn, Ala. - The Auburn softball team held off a seventh-inning rally to defeat South Carolina 3-2 in the first game of a three-game series at Jane B. Moore Field Saturday night.
The win moved Auburn to 24-9 overall and 4-3 in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina dropped to 13-14 overall and 1-12 in the SEC. The teams will wrap up their series with a double-header Sunday beginning at noon.
Auburn pitcher Anna Thompson earned the win to move to 12-5 on the season. Thompson went all seven innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on four hits. Thompson struck out nine and walked four.
"Anna did a good job tonight, especially coming off the long break," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "She worked out of a couple jams, especially when their big hitters were up. Overall, I thought we did well considering we have not played in 10 days. We just need to carry this over to tomorrow."
Audrey Broyles (7-7) took the loss for South Carolina. Broyles gave up three runs, all earned, on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Pitching dominated the first five innings of play as the Tigers and Gamecocks combined for just five hits. The teams each left five runners stranded on base through the first five innings.
The Gamecocks mounted a scoring threat in the sixth inning. Laura Mendes began the inning by reaching on a throwing error by second baseman Cassie Trosclair. A wild pitch moved Mendes to second, which was followed by a walk to P.J. Fulmer. A sac bunt moved the runners to second and third.
A one-out walk to Lindsay Walker loaded the bases for the Gamecocks. Thompson then got Evan Childs to foul out to first for the second out of the inning and got Kristen Stubblefield to strike out swinging for the third out to end the inning without a run scoring.
In bottom half of the sixth, the Tigers ended the scoring drought. Kyndall White opened the frame with a single up the middle and, with one out, came around to score on Elizabeth Eisterhold's double to the wall in left field.
Katie Colton then pinch-ran for Eisterhold. With two outs, Amber Harrison launched a two-run home run well over the wall in centerfield to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. It was Harrison's second home run of the season.
In the seventh, after Ashton Payne singled with one out pinch-hitter Jacqueline Wetherbee hit a two-run home run over the wall in left to cut the Auburn lead to 3-2. It was Wetherbee's first home run of the season.
Thompson quickly recovered and got Mendes to fly out to center for the second out of the inning and Fulmer to fly out to left to end the game.