May 21, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 8 Auburn softball team laced 16 hits to key an 8-2 victory against Cal Sunday afternoon at Jane B. Moore Field. With the win, the Tigers (49-10) won the Auburn Regional and advanced to the Super Regionals for the third consecutive season.
"I thought it was a great game for Auburn, I mean, we've been talking about putting all the pieces together," said head coach Clint Myers. "[We had] 16 hits yesterday, so offensively we're very happy, but we did a better job of situational hitting. We ran the bases well; we turned two double plays, which were huge for us.
Related Links
"I mean, we're getting solid pitching in the circle, so, Auburn softball is playing well. We've just got to keep it going through Supers and into the College World Series."
Auburn racked up 16 hits, including four for extra bases, in the nine-inning contest. Kasey Cooper paved the way with three singles and one home run, while Haley Fagan contributed three base knocks, including one roundtripper.
Victoria Draper, Courtney Shea and Kendall Veach all tallied two-hit performances and combined for one RBI.
The Tigers hit .455 (5-for-11) with runners in scoring position and .429 (9-for-21) with an Auburn player on base in the midday tilt.
In the circle, Kaylee Carlson improved her record to 27-4. The junior got the nod and tossed four innings, allowing just one run and striking out one. Makayla Martin notched her second save of the season after spinning the final three frames and striking out two.
The Tigers needed only the opening two innings to put the game out of reach as the designated visiting team.
In the first, Auburn strung together four consecutive hits to begin the game. Draper and Cooper laced singles to right field before and were brought in by a double to the right-center gap by Carlee Wallace.
Fagan rounded out the scoring with a two-run home run to the opposite field to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead.
The next inning, Auburn loaded the bases behind singles from Cooper and Fagan and a walk by Wallace. Alyssa Rivera then smacked a double to deep left field that scored two and put two runners into scoring position.
Shea laced an RBI single to cap the stanza with the Tigers maintaining a 7-0 advantage.
Cal (32-23) got runs back in the bottom of the third and sixth on a wild pitch and a double play with the bases loaded, respectively. However, that was all the Bears could muster as the duo of Carlson and Martin closed the door to seal Auburn's victory.
The Tigers earned their ninth-straight triumph in NCAA Regional play and improved their mark to 12-2 overall under Coach Myers in the first portion of the NCAA Tournament.
Auburn finds out its opponent later Sunday evening as it will match up with the winner of the Norman Regional. No matter the opponent, the Tigers will host the Super Regional by way of earning the No. 7 national seed.
Tickets will be available for purchase Sunday at 4 p.m. CT at AubTix.com.