April 4, 2015
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AUBURN, Ala. -- Down six runs after the top of the first inning, the No. 7 Auburn softball team was in its biggest hole of the season to No. 11 Tennessee. Fortunately, two huge home runs from seniors Branndi Melero and Morgan Estell were part of a huge comeback that ended with 12-9 Auburn victory at Jane B. Moore Field Sunday afternoon.
"This is a unique ball club," Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. "They don't ever give up. As long as they have a breath, they're fighting. We didn't try to score six right after them. If you look at the scoreboard, we scored in every inning but one. That talks about this team's resilency, character and the entire lineup one through nine. Everyone got involved."
The win ups Auburn's overall record to 37-5 and 10-1 in the Southeastern Conference, continuing the hold on the top spot. Tennessee falls to 27-9 and 7-5 in the SEC, dropping its second league series of the year.
For Auburn, it is its fourth-straight series win and first series win over Tennessee since 2008.
Auburn got five multi-hit performances from its lineup Saturday, all three of its home run hitters with multi-RBI. Estell, Melero and Kasey Cooper all went deep in the series finale, each one either tying the game up or giving Auburn the lead.
All three players finished with two hits each, while Melero and Estell had the team-leading three RBI in the game.
Auburn got the hits it needed to complete the comeback and win the game, tying it in the second with a two-run home run by Cooper and then taking the lead in the third with probably the biggest home run Auburn fans have ever seen from Estell.
For Estell, it was only her fifth home run of the season, but it couldn't have come at a bigger time, sending the season-high crowd of 1,736 to its loudest decibel of the weekend.
"That can go into the book with anyone," Myers said "That was a line drive out of the park. She got it."
A three-run Tennessee fifth tied the game at nine, but Melero had other plans. She broke that tie in the sixth with her seventh home run of the season, an opposite field shot to push her team ahead for good.
"Branndi's had a great week," Myers said. "She got hit in the wrist last week, but she's been getting stronger every day. She's Branndi Melero. She's a first-team All-American. There are times that she needs to step up and today we really needed it. She gave us a clutch performance and a big hit."
After Auburn starting pitcher Lexi Davis did not make it out of the first inning, the Tigers had their work cut out for them, giving up the second-most runs in an inning to any opponent this season.
The Tiger bullpen carried its share of the load, as Davis was pulled in the first, junior Rachael Walters was brought in, looking to deter the shakiness seen on Friday. Walters continued to show why she is one of Auburn's top pitchers, holding Tennessee scoreless for the next three frames and eventually finishing the contest for her 13th win of the year.
Auburn added a run in the fourth, a sacrifice fly by Haley Fagan to take a 9-6 lead, which accounted for the ninth-straight run given up by Tennessee pitching. The Lady Vols nearly emptied its bullpen, as no pitcher went more than two innings in the game.
With the Tigers up 9-6, Tennessee went to the bullpen for the fourth time, bringing in last night's winner in Rainey Gaffin. Auburn was ready for her this time around as it scored the three go-ahead runs off her in the bottom of the sixth, including the home run by Melero. The loss drops Gaffin to 5-2.
"It was awesome," Melero said. "The team and the crowd was so pumped. They helped me in that at-bat. I was just thinking base-hit and move the runners. I know the people behind me can do it. I was glad I was able to put my team up."
Auburn returns to the field on Wednesday to face UAB at Jane B. Moore Field with first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The Tigers will then return to the road to face Texas A&M in College Station, Texas for a three-game series, Friday through Sunday.
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.