Auburn softball matched their last-season win total Friday, by way of a 9-1 mercy rule win over SEC west foe Arkansas.
Auburn (42-8) started slow, but saw runs come in bunches in the bottom of the sixth, and had stellar pitching all night from Marcy Harper, who went all six innings, allowing only four hits and notching five strikeouts.
“Marcy threw phenomenal,” said coach Clint Myers. “She went out there and just shut them down. “
Harper said that one element of her game in particular helped her out against the Hogs.
“The one thing that really worked tonight, that I really needed, was my offspeed,” Harper said. “That really helped a lot tonight.”
Carlee Wallae put the first significant gap between the Tigers and the Hogs, with a two-run blast in the bottom of the fourth, putting Auburn up 3-0.
Harper let up a Razorback homer in the fifth, but pitched out of a bases loaded jam to end the inning. The Tigers went 3-up-3-down in the fifth, but finished things off in the sixth.
In that inning, Auburn scored runs off an error, a fielders choice, a bases loaded HBP, and finally the walk-off sacrifice fly from Morgan Estell that scored Emily Carosone to give the Tigers the run-rule win.
“One thing we did a lot better tonight, you didn’t see a whole lot of pop-ups,” Myers said. “We’ve got to go out and be a little better offensively, but the mission, what we tried to do is really stay on top and force them to make plays.”
The win moves the Tigers to a 14-5 SEC record.
The series will continue Saturday, April 25, at 6:00 p.m., and conclude Sunday, April 26, at 1:00 p.m.
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