March 6, 2015
|
|
FULLERTON, Calif. - The No. 14 Auburn softball team put on an offensive clinic Friday night, defeating No. 13 Arizona, 20-2 in five innings, for its 24th victory of the year and 11th in a row. The 18-run win is the second-largest win in program history and largest ever over a ranked opponent.
Unfortunately, the Tigers couldn't take the momentum with them into Friday's game two, falling to Cal State Fullerton, 3-2, only their second loss this season.
Auburn got on top of the Wildcats early and often in game one, scoring at least three runs in all five innings. The Tigers had plated 10 runs before Arizona even got its first runs on the board.
In the circle, junior Rachael Walters had another masterful performance, going five strong, while only giving up two earned runs on four hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Walters is now a perfect 10-0 on the season and has yet to give up more than two earned runs in any game this season.
Offensively, the Tigers had four players with two or more hits in the game. Tiffany Howard, Emily Carosone and Kelsey Bogaards had three hits each, making up nine of Auburn's 17 hits in the game. For Carosone, it's her fifth three-hit game of the season and Howard's seventh.
For Bogaards, she matches her career-high with the three-hit game and matches a career-high in runs scored (3).
The Tigers only hit three home runs in the game. Carosone and Kasey Cooper both going deep for their team-leading ninth home runs of the season. Senior McKenzie Kilpatrick had a pinch hit home run, herself, in the top of the fifth, her third of the season.
After taking a 13-2 lead after the third inning, Auburn started clearing its bench and, yet, still was able to score seven more runs in the final two innings. The Tigers sent 17 batters to the plate throughout the game getting three hits off the bench, including the Kilpatrick home run.
The win over Arizona was Auburn's third-ever over a Pac-12 team. Auburn last defeated UCLA in 2012 and had a 2-8 record against the conference before Friday.
The Tigers were brought back to earth in game two of the day against Cal State Fullerton. Auburn had the early 1-0 lead after the second inning, but Fullerton was able to battle back and take advantage of its home field, scoring three times in the third and fourth inning.
Auburn cut the lead in half with a run in the sixth, but the offense wasn't nearly as productive as the Arizona game, scattering seven hits, two from redshirt senior Morgan Estell.
Estell was the only player with more than one hit in the ballgame, scoring once and drawing a walk. Auburn's top half of the lineup was able to get on base throughout the game, but went a combined 5-for-19 against the Titans through the first six batters, only walking once.
Junior Marcy Harper got the start against Fullerton, tossing 3.1 innings, while giving up six hits and only three earned runs. Harper was unable to get the run support and suffered her second loss of the season to fall to 5-2.
Lexi Davis came into the game in relief in the fourth inning after Fullerton had taken the 3-1 lead and had a much better outing than her start against Long Beach State a day ago, going a perfect 2.2 innings, striking out one and walking none.
Auburn will look to finish the classic on a high note on Saturday when it faces No. 22/23 Arizona State at 10 p.m. central. It will be the Tigers only game of the day and will be the first game for head coach Clint Myers against his former squad where he spent eight seasons.
Live audio of Saturday's game will be available for free on AuburnTigers.com with Brit Bowen on the call.
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.