April 30, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - Kasey Cooper became the SEC's all-time leader in career RBI while pacing the No. 9 Auburn softball team to a 6-3 win against Mississippi State on Senior Day at Jane B. Moore Field. The Tigers (43-8, 15-6 SEC) also broke the single-season program record after turning their 43rd double play of 2017.
"It is a little bit sweeter on a day like this," said Cooper of accomplishing the record in her final regular season home game. "What better way to go out with a sweep and to set a career record at home."
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Cooper, who now has 266 RBI in her four years on The Plains, passed Charlotte Morgan of Alabama for the conference crown.
"[Kasey's] an All-American in my book," said head coach Clint Myers. "She's got a chance to be a Rhodes Scholar. She's graduating with honors and distinction. She's a phenomenal athlete and she's a phenomenal student. There's so many accolades you could say about her. I'm proud of her."
Cooper was one of six to record a hit in the seven-inning affair and led the team with three RBI. Courtney Shea racked up two RBI, while Victoria Draper reached base and scored twice from the leadoff spot.
Seniors Jenna Abbott, Haley Fagan and Sydne Waldrop also made an impact on the game. Abbott extended her on-base streak to a season-best seven games. Fagan led the team with five assists defensively and was involved in both of the team's double plays. Waldrop pinch-ran and scored the game's first run.
Makayla Martin earned the win after throwing six strong innings in the circle. The San Diego, Calif. native improved her record to 17-5 by striking out four and surrendering just six hits.
Auburn struck early and often, scoring all six of its runs in the opening two stanzas of play.
In the first, following a Draper walk, Cooper belted the first pitch she saw over the fence in center for her eighth homer of the season and sixth at home to make it 2-0. The moonshot etched Cooper's name into the SEC record book as she became the conference's all-time leader in RBI.
With runners on first and third, Fagan grounded out, but it was enough to score Waldrop to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
The next inning, Auburn loaded the bases by way of a fielder's choice from Carmyn Greenwood and back-to-back singles by Casey McCrackin and Draper. Cooper then stepped to the dish and delivered with a run-scoring grounder.
Shea capped the frame with a two-run single, highlighted by a slide from Draper that beat the catcher's glove to home plate and gave Auburn a 6-0 advantage.
Mississippi State (34-18, 8-13) responded in the top of the fourth with an RBI double. However, the damage stopped there as a relay involving Alyssa Rivera, Fagan and Cooper threw out the batter trying to stretch the hit into a triple.
The Bulldogs netted a pair of runs in the sixth following a groundout and a single, but that was all they could get as Kaylee Carlson came on in the seventh and slammed the door shut for her third save of the season.
With the sweep, Auburn clinched its sixth consecutive series win against Mississippi State, dating back to 2011.
The Tigers return the diamond next weekend when they make the trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala. for a three-game series against Alabama, May 5-7. All three games are set to be televised nationally on ESPN2 and the SEC Network.