Feb. 14, 2015
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AUBURN, Ala. - The 17th-ranked Auburn Tiger softball team is now off to its second-best start in school history after locking up wins Saturday afternoon over Mercer and Eastern Illinois. The Tigers defeated Mercer for the second time this weekend, 9-1 in five innings, in the early game, then followed it up with an identical 9-1 win in five over Eastern Illinois.
Auburn is now 11-0 to start its season, which surpasses the 10-0 start by the team in 2013. Only the 2012 squad started out with a better record as it went 15-0 before its first loss of the year.
Junior Tiffany Howard continued to have a hot start to her season at the plate, going a combined 5-for-5 over the two games, including three hits with two triples against Mercer. Howard became the first Auburn player since Myesha Finney in 2006 to hit triples in a single game.
"My approach was just to slow down and control my at-bats better," Howard said after the game. "I just wanted to find good pitches and put good swings on them."
As she was running for the second triple, she claims that she wasn't thinking about anything else except running hard.
"I had Coach Scott (Woodard) telling me to catch Courtney (Shea)," Howard said. Shea was already on the basepaths ahead of Howard and ended up scoring on the play. "I was just trying to run her down," she said.
"I've got a little more confidence under my belt and I've just slowed the game down. Usually, things are running 100 miles per hour in my head, so I've just got to keep myself at a speed where I can control myself."
Going into Sunday's game with Winthrop, Howard currently leads the team with a .613 average with 19 hits and 19 runs scored.
Juniors Rachael Walters and Lexi Davis were the pitchers of record on Saturday. Walters got the call in game one, throwing a complete five innings and giving up only one earned run on three hits with only two walks and one strikeout. It was Walters' third win of the year as she hasn't given up more than one run in her six appearances this season.
As for Davis, it was business as usual as she pitched four innings of scoreless ball, scattering only three hits and striking out four. The four K's were her second most in a game this season as she is now 5-0 on the season.
Auburn, again, jumped out to a big lead in the first inning against Mercer, scoring six runs on six hits, two being big home runs from sophomore Kasey Cooper and freshman Carlee Wallace. It was both Cooper's and Wallace's second home runs of the year, but Wallace would get her third bomb of the year later in the day against Eastern Illinois.
Over Saturday's DH, Wallace went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI. She currently leads all Auburn freshmen with three home runs and is hitting .455 in 11 plate appearances.
Even without hitting a homer on Saturday, junior Emily Carosone quietly kept her hitting streak alive, getting two hits each in both games, making it four-straight games with two hits. The Orlando-native has plated six RBI over the last three games.
The Tigers got a near identical start to their game with Eastern Illinois, scoring six runs in the first inning off six hits with two of the runs coming off the bat of senior Branndi Melero. With one run already home, Melero pelted a moonshot to right-center field, which ended up landing well beyond the net outside of the outfield wall, almost hitting the McWhorter Center.
For Melero, it was her third home run of the year as she now has 18 RBI on the season to lead the team.
"She swings a good bat," Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. "Remember, a homerun is nothing more than a by-product of a good swing. She is going to hit more than just that one. When she swings the bat like she is capable of, she is a very good hitter."
Auburn went on to tally 15 hits in the win over the Panthers, tying for the most against any opponent this season. The team's last 15-hit game came in the 20-8 win over Georgia State on Thursday.
The Tigers have continued to tear the cover off the ball, offensively, as they have now outscored opponents, 124-22, with 64 of those runs coming in the first inning (52%).
The Tigers will play their final game of the Tiger Invitational Sunday when they host Winthrop at 2:45 p.m. at Jane B. Moore Field. Auburn will look to continue its perfect start to the year and move to 12-0 on the season.
The game on Sunday can be seen online only on SEC Network+, which is only available via the Watch ESPN app or WatchESPN.com. Live state will be provided on AuburnTigers.com.
Fans can order their tickets for this season online at AUBTix.com, over the phone by calling 1-855-282-2010 or in person by visiting the Auburn Arena Ticket Office, which is open 7:45 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Tickets are still available for the full season, pick-six mini-packs and individual games.
For more information on Auburn softball, visit AuburnTigers.com, follow the team on Twitter @Auburn_Softball or follow them on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuburnSoftball.