JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Scoring four unanswered runs in the final three innings, Auburn softball (5-1) came up just short as No. 19 South Carolina (2-1) held on for a 5-4 victory Sunday at UNF Softball Complex in the finale of the Osprey/Dolphin Invitational.
The Gamecock put up runs in three of the first four innings, taking a 6-1 lead into the fifth. The Tigers chipped into the lead in the winning three innings, putting the winning road on base in the bottom of the seventh, but could not complete the comeback win.
"We kind of gave it away in the first four innings," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We didn't pitch well. We didn't hit well and had poor pitch selection. Our defense didn't make good decisions. I think three times we fumbled the ball in the outfield and gave up an extra 60 feet, and that runner ended up scoring. But I love our battle. Those last couple of innings, we had some kids come off the bench and made some good defensive plays. It is tough to come off and get one at bat and have success, but we had some kids do that. Even though it was a loss, I told them this is a great game to learn from, but you have to be willing to learn from it as coaches and players."
Coming off the bench, senior Tyler King led the Tigers at the plate with a 2-for-2 outing. Junior Aspyn Godwin slugged her second home run of the weekend, going 1-for-3 with an RBI.
In her first start of the season, junior Samantha Yarbrough was tagged with the loss. In 3.2 innings of work, the right-hander gave up six runs off six hits and two walks. She struck out four.
Redshirt senior Lexie Handley kept the Tigers in the game late, tossing the final 3.1 innings. She allowed just three hits, but kept South Carolina off balanced with five strikeouts.
A repeat from the first meeting between the two squads, South Carolina struck first with two runs in the first of the inning. After a leadoff walk, Mackenzie Boesel knocked a home run to center.
Graduate player Alyssa Rivera led off the bottom of the first before moving into scoring position on a grounder to the pitcher from senior Kaylee Horton. Senior Makenna Dowell drove in the first Tiger run of the game with an RBI single up the middle to cut the lead to 2-1.
Gamecocks added two runs in the third with a Kassidy Krupit two-out double and two in the fourth with double from Kenzi Maguire.
The Tigers led off the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back singles from freshman Kelsey Schmidt and pinch hitter King. Sophomore Lindsey Garcia loaded up the bases with no outs with a pinch-hit walk.
South Carolina answered back with two quick outs, but a Gamecock errors at second plated two runs for the Tigers to cut the lead to 6-3. Godwin sliced the lead to 6-4 with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the sixth.
King led off the bottom of the seven with a single up the middle. With one out, a pair of Gamecock errors put two Tigers in scoring position. South Carolina made the force out at the plate on a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning. Pinch hitter junior Haley Nillen cut the South Carolina lead to 6-5 with an RBI single up the middle.
South Carolina held on the win with a ground ball to first for the final out.
TIGER TRACKS
- Freshman Sydney Cox made the first plate appearance of her collegiate career.
- Aspyn Godwin slugged her third home run of the season, bringing her career total to six.
- Alyssa Rivera has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games, dating back to the 2020 season.
- Makenna Dowell tied her career high as her hit streak extended to eight straight games.
UP NEXT
Auburn returns to Jane B. Moore Field for the Tiger Invite. The Tigers welcome Jacksonville, Murray State and IUPUI for the four-day tournament. Auburn opens the tournament on Thursday against Jacksonville at 5 p.m. CT.