March 9, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn pitching staff twirled a pair of shutouts to sweep Tennessee State in a doubleheader (7-0, 8-0) Wednesday evening. The No. 3 Tigers improved to 22-1 on the season with the pair of wins.
Auburn has not allowed a run in 40-straight innings during the six-game stretch dating back to the fifth inning against Indiana (March 4). Kaylee Carlson pitched the complete game in the opener before head coach Clint Myers turned to Marcy Harper and Lexi Davis to get the win in game two.
"Our pitching and defense was great tonight," Myers said after the game. "The consistency in the at bats was missing but we got the wins, and that's always better than the alternative."
"They all threw well tonight and she (Harper) did a great job too. She's getting ready to pitch against Florida, and she didn't let anybody down. She commanded the zone and threw well, moved the ball up and down, used the four quadrants. So she did a good job."
Harper struck out eight of the 14 batters she faced and allowed only two hits in four innings of work. Lexi Davis finished the game for Harper pitching a perfect fifth inning in the Tigers 13th run-rule victory of the season. Kaylee Carlson got the nod in the second game and cruised to her second shutout of the year and the team's 13th of the season.
GAME 1 -- Auburn 7, Tennessee State 0
The home Tigers posted a 7-0 win over the visiting Tennessee State Tigers (5-14) to take the first game of the doubleheader.
Carlson improved to 5-0 striking out seven batters and allowing only three hit in her complete game performance.
Catcher Carlee Wallace put Auburn on the scoreboard first hitting her team-leading third triple of the season to lead off the second inning. A Jade Rhodes' sac fly score Wallace and the Tigers added two more runs in the third inning scoring Victoria Draper and Tiffany Howard.
A two-run homer by Emily Carosone and a solo shot from Whitney Jordan capped the final tally at 7-0. Carosone went 3-for-4 in the game with three RBI and one run scored.
GAME 2 -- Auburn 8, Tennessee State 0 (5)
Auburn plated two runs in the first inning in this rule-rule victory to get a fast start over the Tigers in game two's action. Auburn has now outscored teams 71-7 in the opening frame this season.
Kasey Cooper took her frustrations out on the ball in the second game after going hitless in the first. Cooper smashed a single to drive in the game's first run and then made the run-rule final with a two-RBI single in the fifth. The junior from Dothan, Ala. went 2-for-4 with four RBI to raise her average back up to an even .500.
Madi Gipson's sacrifice fly scored Emily Carosone later in the first and Carosone drove in the next run during the second with a double.
A scoreless third gave way before the Tigers added two and three marks to the scoreboard in the fourth and fifth inning.
Both Tiffany Howard (3-for-4) and Victoria Draper (2-for-2) scored three runs in this game.
UP NEXT
Auburn hosts No. 1 Florida this weekend with games set for Saturday (6:30 p.m.), Sunday (4 p.m.) and Monday (6 p.m.).