A day after a 15-0 shellacking of Liberty, the Auburn Tigers attempted an aggressive duplication in a 9-1 victory over the Lady Flames on Friday night at Jane B. Moore Field. The victory, which came in six innings due to the run rule, was the first in the Wilson/DeMarini Classic, hosted by the University.
Fronting the offensive efforts were the pair of three-run home runs, logged by third baseman Kasey Cooper and catcher Carlee Wallace.
Cooper’s bomb came in the top of the fourth inning, pushing Auburn’s lead to 5-0. The senior smashed the ball over the right field wall and literally into the trees outside the McWhorter Center, bringing Wallace and Victoria Draper home as well. The monstrous hit was Cooper’s third home run of 2017, after a sluggish start to the season at the plate. She also leads the team in RBI’s with 19.
“I’m definitely more comfortable in the box,” said Cooper. “I feel like myself again. I happy this happened at the beginning of the season.”
Wallace’s homer landed in the sixth inning and was of the three-run variety as well. In the two games on Friday and Saturday against Liberty, the junior was 5 of 5 batting, all extra base hits, with eight RBI’s. Redshirt senior Haley Fagan followed closely behind with a solo home run, her fourth of the season, to place Auburn’s final run on the scoreboard. Wallace, Cooper and Fagan combined for 11-16 hitting in games against Liberty.
“This is unlike any team I’ve played on,” Cooper said. “We have five people that are swinging really well. Even when we have nine in the box, we can do damage. It’s a great team to be a part of, because we’re all on at different times. When we’re all on together, it’s going to be phenomenal. I think we’re progressing well as a team and it’s going to be something special at the end of the year.”
Last Sunday on the Plains, the Dukes of James Madison blanked Auburn, 1-0. The Tigers have since regained their offensive prowess, after their only scoreless outing of the season led to their first loss since Opening Day.
“We had a coach from last weekend tell our coaches that we look scared in the box,” Cooper said. “We didn’t take that too well. We wanted to go back to having fun again and playing the game that we all played when we were little.
“We want to be comfortable and play Auburn softball. We’re starting to relax in the box and trust the process and preparation.”
Makayla Martin notched her seventh victory and was relieved by freshman Ashlee Swindle in the sixth inning. Martin allowed two hits and a single run in 19 Liberty batters faced, delivering five strikeouts.
When their number was called, the agile Tigers made play after play in the outfield. Redshirt junior outfielder Victoria Draper made several athletically-charged exertions, with the most notable being a sliding grab, robbing the Lady Flames of their second hit in the third inning.
In addition, sophomore Kendall Veach tallied a peculiar double play in the bottom of the first. The first baseman nabbed the infield hit right on the base, which coincidentally knocked out both the runner and the batter. The runner was in the process of coming back to first after a steal attempt.
“That’s our belief system, that’s our philosophy,” Auburn head coach Clint Meyers. “Great pitching, great defense and timely hitting. Those are good things that we’re doing. When we started putting more things together, when we start getting to that point, I think we’re going to be in good shape.”
Liberty starting pitcher Chase Cassady pitched all six innings, allowing nine hits and striking out four batters. The lone Liberty run was scored by Alexia Taylor, after Deidra See’s single. The Lady Flames, who were technically the home squad on Friday, turned in a few distinguished outfield plays of their own, including a Taylor Hoffman wall-scaling grab in the fifth, which robbed Kendall Veach of an infield double.
The No. 2 Tigers move to 16-2, while Liberty falls to 9-8. Auburn will make a quick turnaround, hosting the College of Charleston and Texas State on Saturday in another early-season doubleheader. Saturday’s first pitch is scheduled to be tossed at 3:30 p.m. CST at Jane B. Moore against the Charleston Cougars, with the Texas State matchup set as the night cap.
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