May 13, 2016
Carlee Wallace greeted by her teammates after her home run against Florida
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Carlee Wallace and Kaylee Carlson said they came to Auburn to play in the big moments.
They certainly did Friday on the way to the Southeastern Conference softball tournament finals.
Wallace delivered the big hit and Carlson kept Florida at bay, helping Auburn complete an impressive sweep of the No. 1-ranked Gators and No. 4 Alabama in a long day on the Mississippi State campus on Friday.
Auburn beat Florida 2-1 behind Wallace's first-inning 2-run homer and Carlson didn't allow an earned run in seven innings. The Tigers jumped out to a quick lead and beat Alabama 6-4 in the day's first game. The Tigers, the defending tournament champion, will play LSU for the tournament championship at 4 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.
"I've been doing this for 40 years," said Auburn coach Clint Myers, "and this has to rank at the top as far as the two caliber teams we play in a single day and come out on top."
Auburn found itself in the spotlight, and shined.
"I live for games like these," Wallace said. "Against the best teams in the nation - lose and go home if you don't win. I love this time of the year."
"This," said Carlson, "is exactly why I came here. I wanted to play in these big moments and I wanted to compete against the top teams in the nation."
Carlson had a shutout until an unearned run scored with two outs in the seventh. She calmly struck out the next batter on three pitches. Ball game.
"I've been trying to trust myself when I go out there," Carlson said. "That's been my goal the last two weekends, and it has been working."
Carlson improved to 15-1 and Auburn improved to 48-9. Florida starter Kelly Barnhill fell to 15-1 and the Gators slipped to 53-5. Two of their losses are to Auburn.
Auburn used Friday's play to make a strong bid to win one of the coveted eight Super Regional sites that will be awarded Sunday night. First-round regional play begins next weekend, and Auburn will certainly host on the first weekend. First, though, thoughts were of a happy Friday at the SEC Tournament.
"It was a great day," Myers said. "Not very often do you get the chance to play the No. 4 and No. 1 team in the country and come out on top. The kids did a phenomenal job. They did everything we talk about. You saw, especially in the second game, as close to Auburn softball as it should be. It was phenomenal pitching, great defense and timely hitting."
Auburn continued its post-season play stressing defense, getting out of sixth-inning trouble with nice plays. The Gators had runners on second and third with nobody out, but didn't score thanks to a quick first out, then a double play. Auburn took a four-run first-inning lead over Alabama, and, like in the Florida game, got to play as the frontrunner.
"If we can go out and have that type of pitching, that type of defense and that type of hitting," Myers said, "we're going to be tough in the postseason."
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine