In the bottom of the sixth inning, with an 8-0 lead at her back, Auburn pitcher Kaylee Carlson rifled the final pitch of the Tigers’ victory over Ohio State. Buckeyes sophomore Bri Betschel popped up to third base, right into the outstretched glove of Kasey Cooper, who corralled the hit routinely.
With Cooper’s grab, it was over. Kaylee Carlson pitched just the second perfect game in Auburn softball history in that victory last Saturday, March 18th in Tampa, Florida.
“I didn’t feel like it was one of my best games at all,” Carlson said. “[Ohio State] was putting the ball into play and they were hitting it, it wasn’t like I was striking everyone out. We were just making plays and it just worked out in my favor.”
Carlson, a junior from Garden Grove, California, had high expectations placed on her shoulders ever since her arrival on the Plains. The transfer from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill turned in an efficient first season with Auburn last year, compiling a 19-2 overall record and tallying four complete-game shutouts. Carlson was also named to the SEC All-Tournament team in 2016.
By the time the 2017 campaign began, the cat was out of the bag. Pairing Carlson with sophomore ace Makayla Martin, the softball world knew what to expect from the Tigers in terms of production from the circle. Carlson is a perfect 15-0 this season, having guided Auburn to a notable victory over No. 10 James Madison, along with a pair of wins over No. 12 LSU.
Despite the gallant nature of Carlson’s undertaking, she handled the gravity of the moment humbly. Following Cooper’s catch, Carlson jogged over to the dugout, accepting a few high-fives from teammates, but focusing primarily on congratulating the Buckeyes’ efforts.
“It was just another win for the team,” Carlson said.
Carlson joined Holly Currie as the only other pitcher in program history to toss a perfect game. Currie’s heroics came on February 11th, 2005, when the then-junior downed the College of Charleston, 9-0. Currie and Carlson both pitched six innings of a run-ruled victory, but Carlson threw just three strikeouts to Currie’s 13.
Despite Carlson’s efforts to remain indifferent, the pitcher was all smiles when speaking about the post-game festivities, such as the signing of the game’s box score-card.
“It was pretty cool, my parents were pretty excited,” Carlson said. “I think my mom cried, actually. Seeing that I was able to make them proud makes me proud.”
Zero was obviously the magic number for Carlson on that sunny Saturday afternoon in Florida. Carlson allowed zero hits, zero runs, zero baserunners and held batters to an 0 for 18 mark at the plate. In those 18 batters faced, Carlson never tossed more than two balls to a single hitter, with her final tally being 41 strikes to 15 balls in 66 pitches thrown.
The perfect game also serves as the program’s 23rd no-hitter and adds to Carlson’s ERA of 0.93.
"I was just trying to go out there and execute my pitches and my defense made a lot of great plays," Carlson said. "I couldn't have done it without them."
Auburn’s victory over Ohio State came on the heels of a pair of wins over North Dakota State and USF, after the Tigers’ games in Tennessee against the Vols and MTSU were cancelled a few days prior. Carlson also directed the Tigers in the team’s conference-opening series win over LSU, with the junior claiming wins in game one and the rubber match of game three.
“To bounce back and play a great game of Auburn softball with her taking charge and leading, I thought it was a great job, both with her leadership and with her performance pitching,” Auburn head coach Clint Meyers said. "I thought Kaylee pitched awesome. To pitch a perfect game, that's just something that doesn't happen. She got great support from the defense and we needed it.”
The Tigers (27-3, 2-1 SEC) now turn their heads to the upcoming series against the second-ranked Florida Gators (26-1, 5-0 SEC) this weekend in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators won last year’s series, in which Auburn was only able to grab one of three games. Like the Tigers, Florida boasts dominant pitching. Infielder Kasey Cooper recognized the importance of such a matchup.
“We’re looking forward to the competition, because we have two great pitching staffs,” Cooper said. “It’s going to be a challenge. Going down to their place is going to be really fun. It’s going to be intense. Everything matters, all the little details are going to come into play.”
With an undefeated record and a perfect game in her back pocket, Kaylee Carlson will look to propel No. 4 Auburn to another huge SEC series win over a highly-ranked foe.
“Hopefully we can give them a little taste of their own medicine,” Carlson said. “It’s going to be anyone’s game and it’s going to be a fight. We’re ready to go out there and compete against them, it’s pretty cool that they have three really good pitchers.
“Hopefully we come out and get on them early. If not, if it’s a pitcher’s duel, hopefully we come out on top.”
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