Feb. 9, 2018
AUBURN, Ala. -- The Tigers added two more to the win column in day two of The Plainsman Invitational after another double-header sweep Friday evening, defeating Tennessee Tech and Furman at Jane B. Moore Field.
Auburn's bullpen was the star of the day once again, pitching two more shutout wins between senior Kaylee Carlson, junior Makayla Martin and Freshman Chardonnay Harris.
Carlson started off the day for Auburn (4-0) facing Tennessee Tech (0-2) and pitched another complete game, adding seven more innings to her shutout streak. The senior right-hander has now pitched 14-straight innings for the Tigers without allowing a run.
Carlson (2-0) struck out six more batters, bringing her weekend total to 15 through two games. She allowed two hits, stranded two batters and had no walks to lead the Tigers to a 3-0 victory over the Golden Eagles.
"She toughed it out," Coach Mickey Dean said of Carlson. "Thank goodness she went right at them. I'm actually glad she didn't have quite as many strikeouts, I was actually trying to get outs early in the pitch counts, which we were able to do. We really kept her pitch count low, she only threw about 70 pitches. That is pretty impressive for a seven-inning ball game."
The Auburn bats overcame a slow start to tally 12 hits in the game. Leading the way for the Tigers' offense was Sophomore K.K. Crocker who went 3-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored. Freshman shortstop Taylon Snow continued her strong start as well, also going 3-for-4.
With the game deadlocked at no score, Morgan Podany doubled to left, her second extra base hit of the weekend, to lead off the fifth inning. Victoria Draper followed with a single and then swiped second to put runners on second and third for Crocker. Crocker then plated both on a single back up the middle.
Crocker would then come in to score on a throwing error to make the score 3-0.
Taylor Waldrop (0-1), starting pitcher for Tennessee Tech, was credited with the loss after pitching four innings. She allowed nine hits and was responsible for all of Auburn's runs.
In the second game of the day against Furman, the Tigers continued their dominant pitching, starting again with junior Makayla Martin. Martin pitched three shutout innings, allowing just three hits. The San Diego, Calif. product has now pitched 10 consecutive innings without allowing a run.
Chardonnay Harris relieved Martin in the fourth, taking the mound with two runners on and no outs. The freshman waved two batters and induced a popup for the final out to leave both runners stranded.
Harris, a native of Oak Park, Ill., tallied four strikeouts over the first two innings and ended the contest with six total and her first career win. She did not allow a hit over four innings.
The Tigers' offense had another slow start, recording only two hits through four innings against the Paladins. Auburn once again got the bats rolling in the fifth as pinch runner Brittany Maresette scored on a wild pitch and Draper came home courtesy of a RBI single by Crocker.
Furman (0-2) threatened in the top of the seventh, putting a pair of runners in scoring position, however Harris ended the threat as she struck out the final batter.
Crocker led the way once again offensively, going 2-for-3 with one RBI. Courtney Shea also went 2-for-2.
"I like the way we are competing right now," said Dean, "I know our offense is not where we want it to be, but we are competing."
Due to expected inclement weather in the area, there has been a schedule change. The Tigers are set to play again tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT against Tennessee Tech and 4:30 p.m. CT against Furman.