March 8, 2015
|
Box Score| Softball Schedule| FULLERTON, Calif. - After being down 4-0 just a half inning into the game, the No. 14 Auburn softball team completed the comeback over No. 22 Arizona State Saturday night, scoring seven unanswered runs to win, 7-4. The comeback was capped with the go-ahead grand slam by junior Emily Carosone in the fourth inning, her team-leading 10th home run of the year.
With the win, Auburn completes a 4-1 weekend at the Judi Garman Classic and is now 24-2 on the season. The victory is also its second over a ranked opponent in as many days and is the program's third victory ever over a team from the Pac-12.
The top of Auburn's lineup was the key to the comeback as Carosone, Tiffany Howard and Kasey Cooper each had two hits in the game. It was Carosone who nearly drove in all the runs with her grand slam. The Orlando-native now has two grand slams this season.
The Sun Devils jumped out in front in the early goings, scoring four runs in the first inning off starting Auburn pitcher Rachael Walters. Walters barely made it two-thirds of an inning before getting pulled and relieved by junior Lexi Davis.
From the final out in the first inning through the rest of the game, Davis was lights out, holding Arizona State scoreless for the next six frames, scattering five hits with no runs and striking out five. Davis is now 11-0 on the season and Saturday was her second win out of the bullpen this year.
As for Walters, Saturday against the Sun Devils was the first bad outing we've seen from the Virginia-native. Coming into the game, Walters had yet to give up more than two runs in any of her appearances and was leading the team in ERA (1.48) and strikeouts (48).
After spotting Arizona State with the four runs, the Auburn offense started to chip away at the lead.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers got two lead-off singles by Howard and Carosone. Howard later scored after Cooper grounded into a fielder's choice and the throw to third was off-line, cutting the Sun Devil lead to 4-1. It was Arizona's State's only error of the game.
The Tigers scored two more in the third inning and it all started, once again, with Howard. The Georgia-native got her second hit of the game off a double to left-center, setting the table for the possibility of cutting into the deficit more.
Cooper followed with a single to load the bases before Haley Fagan singled home two runs two batters later to make it 4-3. The hit was Fagan's only hit of the game, but it couldn't have come at a better time as Auburn needed just one more run to complete the comeback.
Davis continued to throw well in the circle which opened the door for the Carosone grand slam in the bottom of the fourth. Davis matched her longest outing of the year with the six-plus inning performance. She last went 6.1 innings against Marshall (2/21) getting her seventh win of the year at the time.
In the bottom of the fourth with the Tigers still down a run, the team loaded the bases on two one-out walks and an infield single from pinch hitter Jenna Abbott. Carosone came to the plate with the chance to not only tie the game, but give her team the lead. Carosone sent a 1-2 pitch down the left field line as it hugged the foul pole in fair territory for the grand slam, giving the Tigers the 7-4 lead and eventual victory.
The Tigers return to the road next week when it travels in-state to Troy, Ala., to face the Trojans on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Auburn will then open up Southeastern Conference competition at Ole Miss Saturday through Monday in Oxford, Miss.
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.