'Our fight is paying off': clutch hits lead Auburn softball to series win vs. Alabama

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March 18, 2018

By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. - Casey McCrackin raised her arms as she rounded first base, just like Alyssa Rivera had done minutes earlier.

Their clutch seventh-inning hits -- Rivera's game-tying leadoff home run, and McCrackin's walk-off single -- gave Auburn a series-clinching 2-1 win Sunday over Alabama at Jane B. Moore Field.

"It's a lot of fun," McCrackin said. "I think I rounded first with my arms up the entire time."

McCrackin's single to left brought home Taylon Snow from second with the game-winning run.

"Taylon, she knew I was going to send her," Auburn coach Mickey Dean said. "That wasn't even a thought."

Snow slid headfirst, safe at home when Alabama's catcher was unable to field an errant throw from leftfield.

"I saw the throw was off," McCrackin said, recalling her vantage point from the basepath. "I was like, `She has it. It's fine.'"

Trailing 1-0 with three outs to go, the left-handed Rivera led off the bottom of the seventh with an opposite field homer, leaping between first and second in celebration, then sprinting home to greet her teammates at the plate.

"Very emotional," Rivera said. "It was a big-time hit. The next pitch is the one that matters. Whatever happens in the past is in the past. You've got to just come out there and fight for the next pitch."

"I could just look at Alyssa, that last at-bat, she looked really calm," Dean said. "I didn't know she was going to hit a home run, but I knew she was going to get on base."

Winning pitcher Kaylee Carlson allowed only three hits, pitching a complete game while striking out four.

"To be able to pull through this one shows that our fight is paying off," Carlson said. "We've been fighting a lot of games and for it to go in our favor tonight is pretty great. We're definitely getting back on track. Didn't start out so hot. We needed this, this weekend, and we need to carry it forward."

Carlson was not surprised when McCrackin came through with the game on the line.

"Casey is probably one of the most clutch hitters we have on this team," Carlson said. "She's tied up a few games last year with home runs. If there's anyone you want up to bat, I would want her up to bat in a situation like that. She does so good at executing and doing what needs to be done. I'm very proud of her."

After losing three straight one-run games at LSU and dropping Friday's series opener, Auburn responded with back-to-back wins to claim the series.

"Even when we went down to LSU, we were 0-3 and we lose the first game to Alabama, we fight," Dean said. "We fight, we battle, so we're going to have opportunities. We came through."

Dean emerged victorious in his first series against Auburn's in-state rival, crediting the sellout crowd at JBM.

"The crowd is amazing," Dean said. "I noticed that when I came down here at JMU when we played, the crowd is electric. It's exciting."

"That was amazing," McCrackin said. "Their energy fed into our energy. It was great."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer