The 21st-ranked Tigers were eliminated Friday night from the NCAA Seattle Regional after a 4-3 Brigham Young victory, the result of five Auburn errors.
After falling to BYU Thursday, 2-1, the Tigers needed victories in both of Friday's games to advance in the tournament.
"We knew we had to come out and give a good performance," senior in-fielder Kyndall White said. "We wanted to be there for the SEC, make a statement, and of course, we wanted to make it to that championship game which is something we've never done before."
In Friday's 2-1 win against the Portland State Vikings, the Tigers took an early lead on Kelsey Cartwright's RBI double.
Following the Vikings one run in the third inning, Auburn responded with a double in the top of the fifth by White, who later scored the Tiger's winning run after a sacrifice bunt by Kelley Smiley and Elizabeth Eisterhold's sacrifice fly to deep center.
"The hype carried over a little bit heading into Friday night's game against BYU," said Eisterhold, junior catcher. "You always have more momentum going into the next game and confidence than you did the time before."
Two errors early in the bottom of the first quickly allowed for a 1-0 advantage by BYU, and a throwing error in the third put BYU ahead by three.
Auburn responded in the fifth inning and tied the game 3-3.
"We were hitting the ball hard, but nothing was really dropping until the fifth," White said.
With singles by both Morgan Estell and Lauren Guzman in the fifth, the Tigers had runners in scoring position.
Cartwright then doubled to left-center on a 2-2 pitch, allowing for Estell and Guzman to score. With a ground ball down the first-base line by White, Cartwright scored to tie the game.
"It woke us up a little bit, and I think it really put a fire under us to try to win that game," White said of the 5th-inning rally.
BYU later scored its game-winning run on two Auburn errors in the sixth, topping the Tigers 4-3.
"I'm proud of the way we came back and tied the game after falling behind," said Auburn head coach Tina Deese. "It looked like we had gained the momentum, but the defensive mistakes cost us. BYU took advantage of what we gave them."
Despite the ending, White is proud of the team's efforts throughout the season.
"This year has been amazing, beating teams that we've never beaten before," White said. "Our mentality was to take things one pitch and one inning at a time. We had to go out there and play with a lot of heart, leave it all out on the field, and I think we did that."
Next season, the team will seek to improve upon its commendable 40-19 performance from this year. Eisterhold said the team's expectations are high.
"We want to do everything we did this year and more," Eisterhold said. "We need to take a couple from Florida next season, as well as Alabama."
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