April 20, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Emily Carosone had her usual busy day, playing a doubleheader, going 4-for-6, hitting the decisive home run in a Game 1 victory, getting hit for the 75th time in her career in Game 2.
Carosone's 3-run homer helped Auburn beat Florida State 9-6 in the first game of Wednesday's Top 10 doubleheader. The Seminoles held on to beat the Tigers 4-3 in the nightcap to snap Auburn's school-record 17-game winning streak.
Carosone said Auburn will bounce back.
"It was the little things. We're going to work on those things in practice," she said.
The midweek doubleheader was more than just a pause in Auburn's Southeastern Conference season. This was a Top 10 test.
The Tigers are ranked as high as second nationally. Florida State is No. 8. Auburn left the field with a 42-5. Florida State is 35-5.
"I thought we were going to win two, and we were in a good situation," said Auburn coach Clint Myers. "Unfortunately, we didn't get the job done. We left too many people on base and had too many balls up in the air.
"We've got to do better. If we want to be a national champ, you've got to be able to win those kinds of games."
Carosone's homer gave Auburn a 7-5 lead in the fourth inning of the opener.
"I happen to have enough strength to hit it over," she said.
There were base runners galore in the first game, thanks to 15 hits, 12 walks and four errors. Luckily for Auburn, some of those base runners included the top three hitters in the lineup, who combined to go 3-for-8 with 7 RBIs.
Carosone's homer was the big hit. Tiffany Howard and Kasey Cooper each had two RBIs.
Relief pitcher Rachael Walters steadied the game for Auburn in the third. She allowed two runs in 4.2 innings to improve to 8-2 on the season.
"I thought Rachael came in and did a great job. She closed the door and really pitched well," Myers said.
Jessica Burroughs fell to 20-3.
Auburn's Emily Carosone extends her school record by getting hit by a pitch for the 75th time pic.twitter.com/hmIUQvKSdC
-- Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) April 21, 2016
Florida State led Auburn 2-1 after five of the nightcap. That's when Florida State's Zoe Casas blasted a 2-run homer to increase the lead. The Tigers' Madi Cooper answered with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the six.
Auburn celebrates Madi Gipson's 2-run homer. After six, it's FSU 4, Tigers 3 in Game 2 in this Top 10 doubleheader pic.twitter.com/GE4ggS0RbE
-- Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) April 21, 2016
Carosone reached second to lead off the seventh, but was stranded.
Meghan King pitched a complete game to improve to 15-2. Marcy Harper fell to 6-3.
Auburn returns to SEC play at home Friday for the first of three-game series with Georgia. Friday's game is at 6 p.m., Saturday's game is at 1 p.m. and Sunday's game is at 4 p.m.
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine
Auburn's Greg Williams, fresh off Saturday's equestrian national title, had first pitch tonight. With Clint Myers pic.twitter.com/RUB7vOPmd3
-- Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) April 21, 2016