April 2, 2017
ATHENS, Ga. - The No. 5 Auburn softball team finished off its series at No. 18 Georgia with a 4-3 victory Sunday afternoon. The Tigers (31-5, 6-3 SEC) earned their eighth consecutive win against the Bulldogs (27-10, 2-7) and completed the road sweep for the first time in series history.
"I thought it was a good way to finish the series," said head coach Clint Myers. "Kaylee [Carlson] in the circle always gives us a chance to win. She made the pitches when she had to. We had some timely hitting and a couple really nice plays on defense by Alyssa Rivera in right field.
Related Links
Photo Gallery -->
"We're moving in the right direction of being able to have better at-bats and play good defense. Pitching was solid all weekend. The bats seem to be getting better. The defense, we still have some work to, but we made the plays when we had to."
Carlson earned her 18th win of the season in a complete game effort in the circle that featured two strikeouts and one induced double play.
The trio of Kendall Veach, Carlee Wallace and Rivera combined to go 6-for-10 with each player contributing a pair of base knocks. Veach became the first player since Tiffany Howard against UCLA in 2015 to record two triples in a contest.
Courtney Shea touted a game-high two RBI and added a double in the conference clash.
Wallace led off the game with a double on a two-strike pitch to left field. She then worked her way to third and later scored on a groundout by Haley Fagan.
The Tigers maintained a one-run lead until the third frame when they plated two more on three extra-base hits to take a 3-1 margin.
Fagan smacked a double to left to begin the frame. She then scored with ease when Veach blasted a triple to right. The next batter, Shea, laced a double that reached the wall to bring in Auburn's third run of the contest.
Georgia cut the deficit to two in the home half of the third on an RBI double with two outs.
The Bulldogs knotted the game back up in their chance at the plate with a pair of run-scoring hits to put the game level at 3-3.
The home team nearly had the lead on what would have been a sacrifice fly to right, but Rivera caught the liner and fired home to get the runner at home. Shea gathered the throw in and tagged the runner for the final out of the frame.
With momentum on their side, the Tigers regained the lead in the fifth.
Following a Veach triple off the wall, Shea rolled over a grounder to first and it was enough to score the sophomore to give Auburn a 4-3 lead.
Carlson worked spotless fifth and sixth stanzas, respectively, to keep the Tigers ahead.
Georgia made things interesting in the bottom of the seventh by putting the opening two hitters on base by way of a single and an error. Carlson showed her resolve by sending down the next three batters on a strikeout, fielder's choice and a groundout.
Auburn caps its hiatus from Jane B. Moore Field Wednesday when it makes the short trip to Samford for a 6 p.m. first pitch. The game is set to take place at Spain Park High School and will be available via live radio broadcast.