March 22, 2013
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - The fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide broke a scoreless tie with a three-run fourth inning en route to an 8-0 win over Auburn softball Friday night.
The loss dropped Auburn's record to 20-12 overall and 1-6 in the Southeastern Conference. Alabama improved to 28-3 overall and 5-2 in the SEC. The Tigers and Tide continue the series with a 1 p.m. game Saturday which will be televised by CSS.
"This was a tough loss tonight," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "We had a chance in the fourth to get on the board and couldn't get a run. They came back and were able to string together a couple of hits. The game kind of got away from us in the sixth. We'll regroup and get ready for tomorrow."
Lexi Davis started and took the loss to fall to 5-4. Davis allowed four runs, two earned, on five hits with three walks and one strikeout in four innings of work. Hilary Mavromat pitched one and one-third innings of relief, allowing four runs, all earned, on six hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
Jackie Traina earned the complete-game win to improve to 13-2. Traina scattered three hits, walked one and struck out 11 in six innings of work.
Alabama put a runner in scoring position when Jadyn Spencer laced a one-out double to the wall in right in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Danae Hays hit a ground ball that third baseman Maris Medina misplayed for an error, putting runners at third and first. Hays stole second without a throw to put runners at third and second. After getting ahead 0-2, Davis walked Keima Davis to load the bases.
Davis, however, ended the threat when she forced Kayla Braud to ground out to Brooke Lathan at second in the first pitch of the at-bat.
The Tigers put runners in scoring position in the top of the fourth on a one-out double by Carosone. Lathan followed with a single to center, which moved Carosone to third. Lathan took second on the relay throw home to put runners at third and second. Traina then fanned McKenzie Kilpatrick on a swinging strike three for the second out of the inning. After getting ahead 2-0, Baylee Stephens grounded out to second to end the inning and leave the runners stranded.
Alabama broke the tie in the bottom of the fourth. The Tide put the first two batters of the inning on when Spencer walked and Danielle Richard bunted for a single. The Tigers picked up the first out when Hays hit a ground ball down the third base line that Medina nabbed on a dive and flipped back to Carosone covering third, forcing Spencer out. After falling behind 3-0 in the count, Davis battled back to force Davis to fly out to right for the second out.
Braud, however, followed with a single up the middle to score Richard and give Alabama a 1-0 lead. Hays took third and Braud advanced to second on the relay throw home. Haylie McCleney followed with a ground ball to Carosone at short, who flipped to Medina at third. Medina was unable to field the catch, for an error, which allowed Hays to score and give Alabama a 2-0 lead. Braud was safe at third on the play. After McCleney stole second, Davis delivered a wild pitch which bounced down the first base side and allowed Braud to score, making it 3-0. Davis was able to end the inning when she forced Lafaele to pop out to Lathan at second.
Traina helped her cause when she led off the bottom of the fifth with a towering home run to left. It was her eighth home run of the season and it gave the Tide a 4-0 lead. The homer chased Davis and brought Mavromat in, who was able to end the inning with just the one run scoring.
Alabama broke the game open in the bottom of sixth. An RBI single by Kaila Hunt, which scored McCleney (single), made it 5-0 and was followed by a two-run home run by Lafaele which gave Alabama a 7-0 lead. The game ended one batter later when Spencer ripped a solo home run to center to end the game 8-0 on the mercy rule.