Kaylee Carlson picked up her SEC-leading 23rd win of the season, going the distance in the circle as No. 9 Auburn took down Mississippi State at Jane B. Moore Field by a score of 4-2.
Carlson (23-2) rifled six strikeouts in her seven innings of work, tallying 93 pitches, six hits and two runs. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the third inning thanks to Caroline Seitz’s two-run homer.
“If she’s in the circle, you have a great chance to win,” Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. “She doesn’t have the numbers, but our pitching philosophy is different than everybody else. What we pitch is to win. She gives up the home run and makes a mistake. The girl hits it, so what? She buckles down and shuts them out the rest of the game.”
Junior shortstop Whitney Jordan, filling in for the suspended Haley Fagan, was an enigma for the Tigers on Friday evening. The Athens, Ala. native committed three errors, all of which allowed a Bulldog runner to reach base. However, Jordan redeemed herself by making several impressive plays on defense, including gunning down a runner on first whilst on one knee.
On offense, the junior came through with a momentum-shifting hit in the bottom of the third, bashing a double to put Auburn’s first hit on the board. Leadoff hitter Victoria Draper preceded to connect on a bunt, putting runners on the corners with two outs. A walk forcing Carlee Wallace home and an Alyssa Rivera single down the left foul line scratched across the tying runs to knot the contest 2-2 at the end of the third.
Draper set up the game-tying runs, touting the pair of go-ahead runs with a bunt in the fourth as well. In her sixth-straight game in the leadoff spot, the centerfielder ignited the Auburn offense, finishing 2 for 4 with an RBI.
“I’m just not trying to do too much,” Draper said. “It’s all the same, it’s still hitting. I’m just trying to get on base for my team to score. [Mississippi State] were playing me in a different defense tonight, so I was just trying to read them. At that point, they didn’t shift over, so I was trying to stay with my normal game to score one run, it just happened to be two.”
Much of the buzz surrounding Clint Myers’ squad consisted of the enthusiasm that the team showed in their 14-1 victory at Alabama State on Wednesday. Draper was asked if that energy carried over into Friday’s conference clash.
“I think the crowd contributed to that,” Draper said. “It was a packed house, their [noise] definitely keeps the momentum on our side. That definitely contributed to our pep and our happiness in the dugout.”
Mississippi State’s Holly Ward (7-7) suffered the loss for the Bulldogs, allowing four runs and four hits. Ward came out of the gates hot, retiring the first six batters faced. The Tigers began recording hits and placing runners on base, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings, however.
Auburn (41-8, 13-6 SEC) now moves to just above .500 in the conference with the victory, while Mississippi State drops to 34-16 and 8-11 in the SEC. Game two of Auburn’s final home series of 2017 will be Saturday, with the first pitch set for 6 p.m. CST at Jane B. Moore.
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