April 22, 2009
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Starkville, Miss. -- Lauren Guzman drove in three runs to help lead the Auburn softball team to an 8-3 win in game two of a double-header against Mississippi State Wednesday. The Bulldogs took the win in game one, 2-1 in 10 innings.
Auburn improved to 28-21 overall and 8-14 in the Southeastern Conference with the split. Mississippi State moved to 24-23 overall and 6-16 in the SEC. Auburn return to action this weekend with a three-game series in Tuscaloosa against Alabama. Game one of Saturday's double-header is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
In game two, Jenee Loree earned the win for Auburn to move to 12-7. Loree gave up three runs, all unearned, on five hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
Kelsey Nurnberg took the loss to fall to 9-8. Nurnber allowed five runs, all earned, on 11 hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work. Lindsey Dunlap threw 1.0 inning, allowing three runs, all earned, on three hits with two walks and one strikeout.
The Bulldogs took the early lead on Auburn, pushing across a run in the first inning. Brittany Bell was hit by a pitch with one out, stole second and moved to third when the throw from catcher Tatiana Fernandez sailed wide.
Sammie Jo Bailey drove Bell home with a ground ball to shortstop Lauren Guzman, whose throw home was not in time to get Bell.
The Tigers, however, responded in the top of the second.
Fernandez singled to open the inning and was lifted for pinch-runner Megan Mitchell. A sac bunt by Elizabeth Eisterhold moved Mitchell to second and Amber Harrison's bunt single put runners on the corners.
With two outs, Lauren Guzman hit a blooper that hit off the second baseman's glove in right-center for a double to score both runners and give Auburn a 2-1 lead. Cassie Trosclair followed that with a double to left to score Guzman and push the lead to 3-1.
The Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the second, taking advantage of an Auburn error to score two runs. Jessie Spain and Courtney Nesbit singled to open the inning and, with Allie Heon running for Nesbit, came around to score when Harrison's throw to Trosclair covering first sailed wide.
In the top of the third the Tigers recaptured the lead at 4-3 when Amber Harrison laced a single to right that scored Myesha Finney.
Finney walked and moved to second on a single by Tatiana Fernandez.
Finney moved to third on a long fly out to right by Eisterhold.
Kyndall White gave the Tigers a 5-3 lead with a leadoff home run to open the fifth inning. It was White's fifth home run of the season and it came on a 1-0 pitch.
White's homer sparked the Tigers as they quickly loaded the bases with no outs. Eisterhold made it a 6-3 game with a single to left that scored Lindsey Harrelson, who walked following White's dinger. With one out, Taryn Gray singled to shallow left to score Megan Mitchell, who ran for Fernandez (walk), to make it a 7-3 Auburn lead.
Guzman made it an 8-3 game with an RBI single up the middle that scored Fernandez in the top of the seventh inning. The Tigers loaded the bases with only one out, but were able to plate just the one run in the inning.
In game one, Mississippi State took advantage of an Auburn error to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th for a 2-1 win.
Anna Thompson took the loss to fall to 13-12. Thompson threw 9.1 innings, allowing two runs, both unearned, on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Lindsey Dunlap earned the win to move to 15-13. Dunlap threw a complete game, going 10.0 innings, allowing one run, earned, on eight hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
After five scoreless innings the Tigers plated the first run of the day when Myesha Finney hit a one-out, solo home run to left to give Auburn a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning. It was Finney's seventh home run of the season.
The Bulldogs were unable to mount a scoring threat against Thompson early on. Brittany Bell singled with one out in the first and stole second, but would not advance as Thompson fanned Kaili Smith and forced Sammie Jo Bailey to pop out to short.
Chelsea Bramlett reached on a one-out single in the third and quickly stole second. But, catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold cleared the bases when she gunned Bramlett down attempting to steal third. After that, Thompson retired the next 11 hitters in a row. With two outs in the seventh inning, Ali Bainbridge hit a ground ball that was booted by Cassie Trosclair at second.
Bainbridge advanced to second on the play to put the tying run in scoring position. Sammie Jo Bailey then drilled an 0-1 pitch to wall in right for a double to score Bainbridge and even the game at 1-1. With the winning run at second, Thompson sent the game to extra innings with a called third strike on Jessie Spain.
Thompson worked out of a jam in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Courtney Nesbit doubled to open the frame to put the winning run in scoring position. But Thompson got Courtney Moore swinging for the first out, Bramlett to ground out to first, which moved pinch-runner Allie Heon to third, and Brittany Bell to fly out to end the inning without a run scoring.
Spain led off the bottom of the 10th with a single to center and moved to third on Nesbit's single to shallow left field. Gates popped up to Trosclair at second who caught the ball, but threw wild to first attempting to get Nesbit in a double-play. The ball sailed wide and allowed Spain to score the winning run.