April 28, 2012
Columbia, S.C. -
Elizabeth Eisterhold's two-out, solo home run in the fifth inning broke a tie game and lifted the Auburn softball team to a 3-2 win over South Carolina Saturday night.
The win improved Auburn's record to 30-19 overall and 9-15 in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina fell to 23-28 overall and 3-21 in the SEC. Sunday's series finale is slated for a noon CT first pitch.
"I'm really proud of the way this team fought and found a way to win tonight," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "Liz came through with a really clutch hit after they battled back to tie the game. Lauren (Schmalz) did a great job for the second night in a row coming in and shutting them down."
Angel Bunner earned the win to improve to 12-4. Bunner started and went five and one-third innings, allowing two runs, both earned, on seven hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
Lauren Schmalz earned her second save of the season, and second in as many games, after pitching the final one and two-thirds of perfect ball.
Katelynn Howser (8-9) took the loss in a complete-game effort. Howser allowed three runs, all earned, on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
The Gamecocks took the early lead, pushing one run across in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Bunner hit Lauren Lackey. After a fly out, Dana Hathorn laced a single to right that moved Lackey to third. Evan Childs followed with a single to left that plated Lackey for a 1-0 South Carolina lead.
The Tigers rallied for two runs in the top of the third. Baylee Stephens led off with a single and moved to second on a sac bunt by Lauren Guzman. After a fly out for the second out of the inning, Brooke Lathan swung and missed for strike three but the pitch sailed wide and went to the backstop. Lathan beat the throw to first, and running all the way, Stephens hit third and raced home, scoring just ahead of the tag to tie the game 1-1.
Lathan took second on the throw home and came around to score when Eisterhold laced a single to center to give Auburn a 2-1 lead.
South Carolina used a two-out rally to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. After the first two batters of the inning were retired, Chelsea Hawkins doubled off the wall in right field. That was followed by a double to right-center by Kristen Struett which scored the game-tying run.
The Tigers used a two-out rally of their own to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth. After the first batters were retired, Eisterhold cranked a solo home run over the wall in centerfield. It was Eisterhold's 12th home run of the season and the 34th of her career.
The Gamecocks put two on with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. With clean-up hitter Kaitlin Westfall at the plate, Bunner went to a 3-2 count. Westfall then laced a line drive foul down the third base line that Caitlin Schultze grabbed on a full dive to end the inning without a run scoring.
South Carolina put the tying run on in the bottom of the sixth when Childs reached on a leadoff single to the hole at shortstop. After a sac bunt moved Childs to second with one out, Schmalz was brought in to relieve Bunner. On a 1-2 pitch, Struett flied out at the warning track in left-center for the second out of the inning, with Childs taking third on the play. Schmalz was able to work out of the jam when she forced Shelby Gonzales to fly out to Amber Harrison in right field.
In the seventh, Schmalz retired the Gamecocks in order on a foul fly out, ground out and a line drive out to left to end the game and give the Tigers a series win.