Auburn walked off of the field at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in June with a sour taste in their mouth. The Tigers fell to the Oklahoma Sooners, and missed out on a title for the second season in a row.
On Thursday, Auburn met Oklahoma again. This time in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The No. 2 ranked Tigers did not leave the field with the same feeling, as they downed the top ranked Sooners 3-2.
Courtney Shea, who was thrown out at first in the Women's College World Series for the last out of game three, got her revenge and drove in Carlee Wallace for the first run of the contest.
The other two runs came from Selma native Kendall Veach, who made her first start at first base for Auburn. Veach hit the big fly in the third and seventh innings, and finished 3-4 on the day.
For six innings, Makayla Martin protected a Tiger lead in the circle. Martin got herself out of multiple jams, and held the Sooners scoreless for 6 innings with brilliant pitching. Despite the solid pitching, Oklahoma would not go away easily, and battled back.
A 7th inning RBI double from Oklahoma's Vanessa Taukeiaho brought the Sooners to within one, and a chance to walk off with the victory.
It was not enough.
As soon as Martin was in trouble, pitcher Kaylee Carlson came in and finished the job. Carlson closed out the game for Auburn with two strikeouts. Martin allowed two runs on seven hits, and walked only two batters.
All-SEC third basemen Kasey Cooper finished the day with one hit and two walks. In total, Auburn recorded seven hits, mostly behind the production of Veach and Morgan Podany, who each recorded two.
Auburn will rest for a few hours before taking the field again, this time against the Huskies from Washington. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. CST, and the action can be seen on ESPNU.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
