March 5, 2015
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AUBURN, Ala. - Down 5-1 heading into the final at-bat against Long Beach State, No. 14 Auburn scored four runs in the seventh inning to take its first game of the Judi Garman Classic into extra innings and eventually defeating the 49ers, 8-7.
The Tigers hit two homers in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at five. Senior Branndi Melero, who had been hitless in three previous at-bats, hit the game-tying home run for her fifth long ball of the season.
Auburn forced extras after the four-run seventh, its' first extra-inning game of the season. Long Beach State retook the lead in the top of the eighth, moving ahead 7-5. The two runs given up by pitcher Rachael Walters were her first in six innings of relief, but the Tiger offense was up to the challenge in the bottom half of the eighth.
Needing two runs to extend the game and three runs to win it, Auburn took advantage of the international tie-breaker rules, placing Sydne Waldrop on second and bringing Jenna Abbott to the plate in a pinch-hit situation. Abbott delivered a lead-off double to score Waldrop and cut the lead to 7-6.
The Tiger offense followed suit with singles from Tiffany Howard and Emily Carosone to retie the game for the second time, now at 7-7.
With two on and still no outs in the eighth, Auburn was in a prime position to win and it did, getting a game-winning single by Kasey Cooper to defeat Long Beach State, 8-7. Cooper finished the game 2-for-3 with her only RBI being the game-winner.
Four Tigers finished Thursday's game one with two hits or more. Howard and Carosone each had three hits, one being a homer from Carosone in the four-run seventh, her team-leading eighth. Cooper and redshirt sophomore Haley Fagan finished with two hits also.
Starting pitcher Lexi Davis just didn't have the right stuff in the circle on Thursday against Long Beach State, giving up five runs in two innings over five hits. She gave way to Rachael Walters, who has been one of Auburn's hottest pitchers to date.
Walters shut down the 49er offense after coming into the game in the third inning, finishing out the final six innings, giving up only one earned run and getting her eighth win of the year.
Auburn went on to win its second game of the day, against Pacific, 4-1, to push its win streak to 10. The Tigers got a two-run home run by Cooper in the early goings and then a complete-game pitching performance from junior Marcy Harper.
Harper had her best outing of the season against Pacific, going a complete seven innings and giving up only one earned run, while scattering four hits. It's Harper's first complete game of the season as she is now 5-1 on the year.
Auburn took more control of its second game of the day, taking an early 2-0 lead on a long ball by Cooper. The Dothan-native also now has eight home runs this season. Along with Carosone and junior Jade Rhodes, who hit a home run earlier in the day against Long Beach State, all three Tigers lead the squad with eight home runs this season, making up 24 of Auburn's 49 home runs this season.
Pacific tried to squeak its way back in the game, scoring a run in the top of the fifth after working a runner around after a lead-off hit by pitch and a single.
With the score 2-1 in favor of Auburn heading into the late innings, the team from The Plains got some insurance in the form of a couple of singles by Melero and Rhodes and also one Pacific error.
Rhodes finished game two a perfect 3-for-3, all singles, to set a new career-high for hits in a game. Overall, on Thursday, Rhodes was Auburn's most productive hitter with four hits, including a home run with two RBI.
Friday's slate of games will be hard to top after Thursday's exciting victories, but Auburn has another double-header on the horizon tomorrow with games against No. 13 Arizona and host-school Cal State Fullerton. Friday's game against the Wildcats is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central and the game with the Titans set for 10 p.m. central.
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.