March 3, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - Kasey Cooper, Haley Fagan and Carlee Wallace launched home runs to guide No. 2 Auburn to a 9-1 victory over Liberty Friday night in the opening tilt of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic.
In total, the Tigers (16-2) secured nine hits, including four for extra bases, in the six-inning contest at Jane B. Moore Field.
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"We played well enough to win," said head coach Clint Myers. "We hit a few balls hard. It's the same story, just a different day. We hit some balls on the button."
Victoria Draper, Madi Gipson and Wallace paced the offense with two hits each, while Cooper and Fagan combined for five RBI on the night, including a season-high four from Cooper.
Makayla Martin earned the win in the circle after throwing five innings with five strikeouts and allowing just two hits.
For the second night in a row, Wallace opened the game with an extra-base hit. This time, a double down the line in right got the bats going for Auburn. She then advanced to third on a fly out and scored on a wild pitch.
Cooper drew a walk with the bases loaded in the second to bring home Gipson and make it 2-0 in favor of the designated road team.
Martin faced just 11 batters in the opening three stanzas and got a pair of outstanding defensive plays to keep Liberty (9-8) off the board.
In the first, Kendall Veach grabbed a sharp liner to first with one on and had the wherewithal to beat the runner heading back to the bag for the double play.
One inning later, Draper had the beat on a would-be single right off the bat and slid to make the one-handed grab.
Offensively, the Tigers put the game away in the fourth with one swing. With two down, Draper reached on an infield single and then swiped second. Wallace followed that up with a four-pitch walk.
Cooper then belted a three-run rocket that cleared the barrier in right field and went through the trees to make it 5-0 Auburn.
The Lady Flames got on the board in the home half with a run-scoring single up the middle to cut the margin to four.
After a clean fifth from both sides, the Tigers added four to their tally in the top of the sixth.
Casey McCrackin and Draper led off the stanza with consecutive singles before both crossing the plate on a three-run roundtripper off the bat of Wallace. Fagan then took a pitch over the right field fence for an opposite-field solo shot to cap the scoring at 9-1.
Ashlee Swindle came on for the final inning and worked around a two-out single to close out Auburn's 13th home victory of the season.
The Tigers are set to take on College of Charleston at 3:30 p.m. and Texas State at 6 p.m. Saturday in the second day of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic.