Feb. 12, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. - Fourth-ranked Auburn softball put up 19 runs Friday night against Western Kentucky, but it wasn't so much the hits that brought them home. The Tigers tallied 12 walks coupled with the Lady Toppers seven errors to put up its fourth-biggest run total in school history, winning 19-1 at Jane B. Moore Field.
"It's always good to score 19 runs," Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. "But, they gave us a lot. They walked us 12 times. It's difficult to stay locked in when you're seeing more balls than strikes. We only got seven hits tonight. We're a much better ball club than what we displayed tonight."
Auburn did manage seven hits on the night, but many of the runs allowed by Western Kentucky were unearned as the Tigers worked their way around the base paths nicely via the walk or the opponent's errors.
Sophomore Kaylee Carlson followed suit to Marcy Harper from the night before as she tossed a nice four innings of one-hit ball with two strikeouts to secure her first win of the young season. Freshman Makayla Martin got her first collegiate appearance in the fifth inning finishing out the game in order with two strikeouts.
"I thought the pitching was outstanding tonight," Myers said. "I thought Kaylee (Carlson) did a great job. They wouldn't have gotten that one hit had we turned the double play earlier in the inning. We have to be better from top to bottom and from start to finish."
None of the Tigers, offensively, came away with a multi-hit game, but Carlee Wallace and Jade Rhodes each had big doubles in the first inning to give Auburn the early 3-0 lead. Two of Auburn's three runs that inning were brought home by Wallace's two-bagger. Both her and Rhodes completed the night 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Auburn's second inning was what blew the game open. Seven runs crossed the plate by the time the third out was made, but only one hit was recorded by Victoria Draper, a bunt single. Auburn walked the first three batters it brought to the plate in the second before Western Kentucky committed three errors to allow seven runs to score. Only on Rhodes' RBI ground out and Draper's bunt single did Auburn not score on either a walk or an error.
The Tigers added nine more runs in the third inning and started to clear its bench to give other players some plate appearances. Freshman Tali Milde notched her first collegiate hit on a single back up the middle in the bottom of the fourth and redshirt senior Madison Dickey singled home a run in the third inning, helping bring home one of the final runs of the game.
Auburn is back to the field tomorrow for a double-header against Butler and Furman at Jane B. Moore Field. Its game with the Bulldogs is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., followed by its contest with the Paladins at 3 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on SEC Network+ via the WatchESPN app or WatchESPN.com.
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.