The Auburn softball team fell short in a doubleheader against the Mississippi State Bulldogs Wednesday night. "They were close ball games, and those are the ball games you like to watch because both teams are fighting for the win," said sophomore infielder Amber Harrison.
In game one, the Tigers tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the second inning when junior infielder Kelley Smiley hit the ball to bring home sophomore catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold from third base. In the back-and-forth game, the Bulldogs stole the lead again in the top of the fourth until sophomore infielder Lauren Guzman tied the game once more in the bottom of the fifth.
"I think we're pretty even teams," said junior infielder Kyndall White. "I think they just had that one hit that put them ahead of us." The tie was broken in the top of the sixth with a Bulldog homerun to seal Mississippi State's victory at 3-2.
In game two, sophomore pitcher Angel Bunner pitched seven innings, allowing two game-winning homeruns after an Auburn error. White tied the game at 1-1 with a homerun in the bottom of the third until the Bulldogs took the lead in the fifth to end the game with a score of 2-1.
"Honestly I think the games could have fallen either way," Harrison said. "We definitely put some hits together, we were making good contact, it was just the fact that they were standing under the ball wherever it was."
At 23-22 overall, Auburn has had a tough season with many ups and downs, but the team has always kept their confidence. With six conference games left in the season, the girls will be working harder than ever in hopes of making it to the SEC championship.
"They pulled together tonight for the second game because their hearts were broken in that first game," said coach Tina Deese. "They were really pulling for each other." With many of the games throughout the season ending in final scores of one-run differences, Auburn hopes to amp up their offense for the remaining games.
Players getting stranded on base is a major weak spot on the team. Auburn aims to work on making more connections with the ball and scoring more runs. "One run is not really going to win a ball game in most situations when you have some other teams that can really pound the ball, so I think that's something we need to work on," White said.
Even with these two losses, Auburn is in a good position with an RPI of 27. Auburn heads to Oxford, Miss., this weekend to play in a three-game series against a strong Ole Miss team.
"I hope we go to the SEC tournament and I hope we shock them all," White said.
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