May 11, 2017
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Kendall Veach belted a two-run home run and Kaylee Carlson threw a shutout to guide the No. 7 Auburn softball team to a 2-0 victory against No. 18 Kentucky Thursday night. The Tigers (46-9) advanced to the SEC Tournament Semifinals for the third-straight year.
"Kaylee's pitching and Kendall's home run is the reason why we're [moving on]," said head coach Clint Myers. "This team is resilient; there's a different hero every night. They just figure out ways to win."
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Auburn was limited to just three base knocks in the seven-inning tilt, but two were extra-base hits. Alyssa Rivera contributed a double in the second inning to go along with Veach's roundtripper.
In the circle, Carlson worked another masterful performance in her 20th complete game and sixth shutout of the season. The junior threw 88 pitches, induced 12 groundouts and struck out a pair to improve her record to 26-3 on the season.
Carlson and the defense kept Kentucky (36-17) off the board, despite two dangerous chances.
In the third, the Wildcats had back-to-back singles to put two on with one out. Haley Fagan made a diving snare on a grounder up the middle and fired it to first to record the second out. Carlson then forced a groundout to Casey McCrackin at second base to get out of the jam unscathed.
Three innings later, with the game still scoreless, Kentucky strung together three straight hits, but Auburn benefited from a would-be runner leaving early on an attempted steal. Carlson then buckled down and got a 3-6-3 double play involving Veach and Fagan to keep things where they stood.
With momentum on their side, the Tigers needed one swing to ice the game away.
Rivera drew a two-out walk and occupied first. Veach, after falling behind 0-2 in the count, fouled off a couple of pitches before drilling her team-high 12th homer of the season to give Auburn a 2-0 lead.
"I choked up on the bat and took the barrel to the ball, that's all I was focused on," said Veach after the game. "If I had good, hard contact, I knew something good was going to come of it."
Carlson worked a 1-2-3 stanza in the top of the seventh and guided the Tigers to their seventh-consecutive victory over the Wildcats.
Auburn is set to take on LSU in the semifinals. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Friday on ESPNU. Brit Bowen and Brad Law have the call from the radio booth on 95.9 FM and the official Auburn app.