OKLAHOMA CITY -- Sunday night at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, history would not repeat itself. The Florida State Seminoles (55-10) and Auburn Tigers (57-10) battled for their ticket to the championship round of the WCWS. Auburn had been in this game before, facing a different Florida opponent and did not succeed.
Sunday was different. Sunday was not a walk in the park, but it was a walk-off that punched the Tigers ticket to the world series championship.
"It wasn't as pretty as we would've liked, it wasn't as easy as we would've liked, but I think you saw the fight - I think you saw the heart," said Auburn head coach Clint Myers. "They beat a very talented, a very good, Florida State team. It has great talent and great coaching."
No. 4 Auburn had a three-run lead on the Seminoles entering the seventh inning, before the No. 8 Florida State team flipped the table. Seminoles shortstop Carli Harrod blasted a ball over the right center fence, capitalizing on a Sydney Broderick single and a Ellie Cooper walk to tie the matchup at seven.
An uneventful end to the seventh inning pushed the game into extras. A lead-off walk for Florida State wouldn't change the score as a groundout and two strikeouts would close the visiting team's time at the dish. Madi Gipson set the stage in dramatic fashion at the bottom of the eighth, reaching third on a single turned triple because of a throwing error.
"I wasn't stopping," said Gipson. "Coach, earlier in the year, stopped me on a triple and I wasn't stopping this time."
Whitney Jordan took a strike and fouled off twice before reaching first on a fielder's choice. The throw to home to reach a diving Morgan Podany, pinch running for Gipson, was not in time. Her finger tips reached for run number eight, the one run need to send Auburn to the championship round.
The build up to the grand finale was nothing short of dramatic, with the scoreboard lighting up through six of the eight innings played. Kasey Cooper bare handed a hard hit ball for a clutch out at first and Victoria Draper set the diving tone for Auburn with a top 10 worthy play in centerfield.
"We make the good plays and the great plays come along," Cooper said. "Playing at Auburn softball, we expect you to make the routine plays and the great plays will come."
Kaylee Carlson started in the circle for Auburn, Makayla Martin followed for 3.1 innings and Rachael Walters entered in the sixth to work the Tigers out of a jam - or two. The tying run came at Walters' expense. It followed with two walks, two outs and a hit by pitch to load the bases. Fans and even some media wondered where her replacement was. Auburn stuck with its plan and Walters exited thanks to a groundout to shortstop.
"They didn't score any more - they just made it a little more exciting," said Myers. "Corey (Myers) handles the pitchers.. I trust him. He had a plan, he knew what he was doing. It's having a plan and staying with your plan, even through adversity and making things happen, and trusting the people that are out there. Just trusting them."
Auburn will learn its opponent concluding Oklahoma and LSU's matchup. The championship round will either begin Monday, June 6 or Tuesday, June 7 at 7 p.m. CST.
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