The No. 4 seed Tigers faced the No.13 seed Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns Friday, May 22, finishing the four hour contest with 12-11 score and a walk-off win in extra innings to complete game one of Auburn's first Super Regional.
It was the Ragin' Cajuns' sixth appearance in a Super Regional since 2008 and the second time facing a team coached by Clint Myers.
A solo home run started off the contest in the top of the first, giving Louisiana-Lafayette the lead.
In the bottom half of the inning, Auburn returned the favor to tie the game with an error-reach for Carosone and a ground rule double for Kasey Cooper.
“This is a team of firsts," Myers said. "This is uncharted water for them, but it’s nothing more than just softball. The things we ask them to do is the same, and when they start doing that it indicates that we’re moving in the right direction, and we’re going to be a very good ball club. We’re a forced to be reckoned with.”
Louisiana-Lafayette responded in the second scoring three runs on two singles and a double before the Tigers could close the inning on a runner caught stealing third.
It was a Ragin' Cajun 4-1 lead before the Tigers scored again on an RBI walk.
In the bottom of the fifth, Emily Carosone hit a two RBI home run that made her the new Auburn single-season RBI record holder with 79and gave her 82 hits for the season, another Auburn single-season record.
“I definitely think that we feed off of the fans,” Carosone said. “It’s just an extra energy boost and we have that advantage being home having our fans here. I definitely think that gives us the edge to get the job done.”
Junior Jade Rhodes knocked back her 19th home run of the year in the sixth to set another season-single record.
The Tigers crept back into the game, only down 8-5, in the top of the seventh.
“It means a lot to us when we can interact with the fans, because when they’re fired up we’re fired up,” Rhodes said
In the seventh Louisiana extended the lead 10-5 before closing the top of the inning.
With two on base and two out in the bottom of the inning, something miraculous began for the Tigers.
One walk, two walks, three walks… seven walks.
Seven walks tied the game at a score of 10 that brought the contest into extra innings.
A Ragin' Cajun scored on a wild pitch in the eighth to make the score 11-10.
Morgan Estell doubled following a walk dealt to Carlee Wallace and a single up the middle for Haley Fagan.
Rhodes went down swinging for the first out, and Auburn brought in pinch hitter Whitney Jordan.
“If you saw, all four coaches were sitting there," Myers said. "[We asked] ‘Can you give us a ground ball?’ Her response was ‘Yes. I’ll get you that ground ball’ and by golly she did it."
Jordan hit a walk-off single to second and the energetic Tigers took the field of victory.
“I can say that that was probably the best four hour ballgame you’ve ever watched," Myers said. "We’ve been figuring out ways to win, and a different hero, that little freshman, went up there and got the big ground ball for us and that was huge.”
The Tigers will face the Ragin' Cajuns again tomorrow at 11 a.m. on ESPN. Should the Cajuns win, it will force a double-header with game two at 2 p.m. The winners will advance to the Women’s College World Series.
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