Feb. 21, 2014
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AUBURN, Ala. - Sophomore pitcher Lexi Davis struck out a career-high 13 batters against Samford Friday night to help the Auburn University softball team earn its 11th win of the year, 3-0 over the Bulldogs, and open the Wilson/DeMarini Classic with two victories. The Tigers defeated Jacksonville State earlier in the day, 6-5 in nine innings, and thus extended its current winning streak to eight games.
For Davis, it was her second-straight appearance that she has thrown a career-high in strikeouts. She fanned 11 against Western Illinois last week in the Tiger Invitational and now has totaled 24 strikeouts in her last two starts.
"That's pretty darn good for Lexi," Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. "With no walks, she was in total command and threw a phenomenal ball game."
Runs were hard to come by on the opening day of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic, but Auburn was able to scratch across six runs on three hits in its first game with the Gamecocks and then three runs on five hits in game two with Samford. Sophomore Emily Carosone was the only Tiger player to have a multi-hit game on Friday as she tallied two hits against Jacksonville State and one against Samford.
"We just have to swing the bats," Myers said. "The pitching has been really good. Lexi came in and shut the door against Jacksonville State and up until the seventh inning, Marcy (Harper) had thrown a pretty good ball game. We just have to continue to get better and swing better."
Against Jacksonville State, Auburn was the first to get on the board after Carosone scored one of her two runs on a Kasey Cooper sacrifice fly. Cooper finished game one with two RBI. However, the Tigers wouldn't cross the plate again until the third inning.
The Orange and Blue plated four in the bottom half of the third, benefitting from three walks and two hit by pitches. Carosone led off the inning with her third double and then the Gamecocks let three-straight batters get on base without the ball being hit into play. Carosone's hit ended up being the only base hit of the inning as Tiffany Howard, Carosone, Morgan Estell and Cooper all scored via walk or hit by pitch. The Tigers led 5-0 and look to keep the cushion as the game entered the latter innings.
The Gamecocks answered back with a run in the fourth and fifth innings, getting a Taylor Sloan double to score Kalee Tabor in the fourth to make it 5-1. An inning later, Sara Borders hit her third homer of the season to left field, cutting the Auburn lead to 5-2.
Both teams recorded zeroes in the sixth inning, giving Auburn a three-run lead as it went into the top of the 7th. Auburn pitcher, Marcy Harper, retired the first two batters of the inning and looked well on her way to her sixth win of the year. Unfortunately, the Gamecocks got a double down the right field line by Ella Dennes and then reached Sloan on an error, scoring Dennes to make it 5-3. With a runner on, Borders returned to the batter's box and hit her second home run of the day to tie the game at five. The two-run home run forced Myers to make a pitching change and replace Harper with Davis. The righty struck out Tabor for the final out, but not before the damage was done.
As Auburn went to its second extra-inning game of the season, the Tigers and Gamecocks went three-up and three-down in both half innings to force a ninth inning. Jacksonville State, again, couldn't touch Davis as she mowed them down 1-2-3 to take the game to the bottom of the ninth.
With Howard placed on second via the international tiebreaker rules, Carosone dropped down a beautiful bunt, sacrificing herself to advance Howard to third with one out. In the next at-bat, Estell delivered with a 3-2 single to the shortstop, just deep enough to score Howard for the win. It was Estell's only RBI in the game as she finished with three walks.
Against Samford in game two, the Tigers were, once again, the team to score first. Two runs crossed the plate after sophomore Maria Mitchell laced an RBI single to right field, scoring Cooper and Estell to make it 2-0 Auburn after one. Mitchell started at the designated player position, her first start of the season. The two RBI give her four for the season.
With Davis dealing in the circle on the defensive side of the ball, Auburn still couldn't get much going with the bats. The Tigers did get one more big run from the bat of Cooper as she launched her third homer of the year to straight-away centerfield to push the Orange and Blue's lead to 3-0 in the third inning. However, it was the final run of the game as it was all the Tigers needed with Davis' pitching performance.
Auburn returns to the field Saturday as it will take on Jacksonville State for the second time this weekend. First pitch for the game is set for 3:30 p.m. The first game of day two of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic will feature Mississippi Valley State and Samford, starting at 11 a.m. at Jane B. Moore Field.
The Auburn games can be heard locally on WEGL 91.1 or online at AuburnTigers.com. Live video will also be available for the Auburn games and live stats will also be available on AuburnTigers.com throughout the weekend for all games.
All home games at Jane B. Moore Field this year will require a purchased ticket unless otherwise specified. All ticket information can be found here on AuburnTigers.com.
For more information on Auburn softball, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter @AuburnTigersSB or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSB.