'She was a monster': Kaylee Carlson tosses 12-inning shutout

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March 25, 2018

By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. - In a performance that inspired Auburn softball coach Mickey Dean to admiringly call her a "monster," senior Kaylee Carlson continued to put up zeroes inning after inning, setting the stage for Tannon Snow's walk-off home run in the boffom of the 12th.

"You just go out there and you fight," said Carlson, who pitched a five-hit shutout in a career-long 12 innings in No. 11 Auburn's 1-0 win Saturday over No. 19 Kentucky. "However many more they needed, that's how many I've got.

"When you're in that kind of game, you're just fighting for your team and your body kind of becomes irrelevant."

Auburn needed 12 scoreless innings from Carlson, backed by an error-free defense.

"She was a monster," Dean said. "She wants the ball. She got it. She did her job. Great defense behind her. How many times do you see three balls hit to the fence and you still hold them to a single? That's huge, that's the difference."

Carlson also credited her defense for its role in Auburn's 19th shutout of the season.

"You have to have three parts of the team: defense, pitching and hitting," Carlson said. "If our hitting is going to be a little iffy on the edge, we have to have great defense, and that's what they're doing. They're coming out there and making great plays."

Snow sent the Jane B. Moore Field crowd home happy, smashing a high pitch on a 2-2 count sailing over the wall in left, a no-doubter that traveled even farther on the strength of a 12 mph wind.

"This is for [Kaylee]. She's given everything, so this is all for her," said Snow, who said she approached the opportunity by telling herself it was just another at-bat. "That was an up pitch, and I took it out."

Snow ranked her heroics at the peak of her career highlights.

"It's up there," Snow said. "It's on the top, for sure. It's another walk-off. I've had a few this season, so it's pretty nice."

As Snow's teammates began congregating at home plate, awaiting her arrival with the winning run, Dean walked toward third base, eager to greet Tannon on her way home.

"She crushed it," Dean said. "She'd been hitting hard ground balls the whole night. Finally, the kid elevated one that was in her zone."

Within 15 seconds of Snow stepping on home plate, having scored the game's only run, the Tigers led the crowd in singing the fight song, celebrating a series win and the conclusion of a tense game that started late (8 p.m.) and ended at 10:50 p.m.

"We've got to keep fighting," said Dean, of Auburn's fourth consecutive SEC win. "It's like I tell them. Our effort has to be greater than our opponent's. And what are we willing to do that they're not willing to do? That's really what it comes down to."

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