April 14, 2018
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No. 8 Auburn softball dropped their second SEC series of the season Saturday falling 5-4 and 5-1 to Missouri at the Missouri Softball Stadium.
The orange and blue Tigers dropped to 36-10 and 9-8 in SEC play while Missouri improved to 24-21 (6-11 SEC).
"Winning covers up some things, and it can, it can cover up some things. We talk about it all the time," head coach Mickey Dean said. "We just haven't made the corrections that need to be made, and today we ran into a team that is fighting for our lives and they took it to us."
The first four innings of the opening game was played Friday night with Auburn holding a 3-0 lead after a Tannon Snow 3-run homerun. The game was then suspended following a lengthy one hour, eight minute rain delay until Saturday.
When play resumed, Auburn quickly tacked on their fourth run on an Alyssa Rivera solo homerun, her team lead-tying seventh of the season, to make it 4-0. Missouri would then go on to plate five runs on three homeruns over the final two innings to walk-off with a 5-4 victory.
Kaylee Carlson (17-3) was charged with the loss after allowing all five runs. Missouri relief pitcher Danielle Baumgartner, who come in to relieve starter Madi Norman when play resumed on Saturday, picked up the win to improve to 1-2.
Game two of the series saw Missouri jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the opening frame which chased starter Makayla Martin (14-4) from the game. Freshman Chardonnay Harris relieved her in the second and tossed 4.0 innings with three runs allowed on four hits.
Auburn got a run back on a solo homerun to dead center by Kendall Veach in the second inning to cut the deficit in half 2-1. Missouri then stretched their lead in the fourth on a two-run homerun and added an insurance run in the fifth on a RBI double to bring the score to 5-1.
Martin was charged with the loss while Missouri Starter Lauren Rice improved to 9-12.
The loss breaks a streak of four-straight SEC series wins for Auburn.
A blustering wind aided in carrying seven total homeruns out of the park over both games while the pair of Tigers finished with 12 hits apiece (seven in game one, five in game two).
The series finale is set for Sunday with the first pitch slated for 12 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.