Following a 10th-inning, one-run win over UCLA Saturday night, May 30, the Tigers cut their season’s lifeline in the Women’s College World Series, losing to Florida, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon, May 31.
Florida is currently ranked No. 1 in the series and is led by the 2015 National Player of the Year, Lauren Haeger.
“I think I’ve got to tip my hat to her,” freshman catcher Carlee Wallace said. “She pitched a great game. I’d say that she is one of the hardest throwers that we’ve seen this year. I think she did a really good job of mixing speeds and hitting her spots.”
The Gators also took the series trophy last year, beating Alabama 6-3 in the second game of the three-game series.
Regardless of this loss, this “team of firsts” has made it a season to remember, claiming two All-Americans in Kasey Cooper and Emily Carosone on top of finishing in fifth for the most executed double plays (42) on defense, and ranking within the top 10 since March, eventually climbing to No. 4 for the first time in program history.
Not to mention this Auburn team is the first to ever make an appearance in the WCWS.
But like all good things, the Tigers’ season had to come to an end.
However this isn’t the end for the Tigers.
In fact, they’re just getting started.
In the post-Florida game press conference, coach Clint Myers made it clear the team is far from finished.
“I’d like to say how very proud I am to be the coach at Auburn University,” Myers said. “These kids were picked to finish eighth in our conference, and yet they were one of four remaining teams in the College World Series. That says a lot about character. It says a lot about drive, competitiveness. It was a lot of fun. And we will be back.”
Myers is more than familiar when it comes to winning a WCWS, as he has two championship titles on his résumé during his career at Arizona State to prove it.
“Our plan is now an expectation as it is with Florida and the other top schools that are here every year, to be at the College World Series each and every year, having a chance to play for that national championship,” Myers said. “And these girls at Jane B. Moore Field, the staff has emphasized Auburn needed prepare for the series from day one, because this team was going no matter what.
“I mean, the moment he said that [we we’re going to the WCWS this year], I believed in him,” senior right fielder Branndi Melero said. “And I’m beyond blessed that he allowed me to stay on this field and to keep me on the team, to have this opportunity. He said he was going to bring us to the Women’s College World Series, and he did. So I couldn’t be happier, and I thank him very much for all that he’s done.”
As Myers said before the team’s departure Monday, May 25, the girls would have to adjust to the setting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The team’s week was characterized by what seemed like nonstop game play, including a day that lasted more than nine hours on the field.
Extra-inning play turned two-hour games into four, something that the Tigers have become familiar with.
“I don’t really feel like any of us got fatigued, per se,” starting pitcher Lexi Davis said. “Maybe towards the end where I got pulled out the last inning, I think maybe my arm was getting a little tight. But we played our hearts out no matter what. And I think fatigue or not, it was more a matter of character and how we wanted to go forward with it.”
Melero said this kind of schedule is something that comes with the game. It’s a package deal.
“It’s softball,” Melero said. “You’re going to play with cuts, bruises, breaks, you just have to go out there and continue to play. Yeah, right now I’ll be honest that my body is hurting a lot, but you’re not going to show that. Coach just stresses [to] play different than how you feel, and I feel like we did exactly that. Now that it’s done, you’ll probably hear a lot of girls tell you how tired they are. But before that, you’re not going to hear that from us.”
Myers said he is proud of how his team toughed it out, even after such a demanding week of play.
“I mean, I don’t think you saw anybody dog it anywhere on either team,” Myers said. “That was great competition. It was a hell of a game for only two runs being scored on both sides. True competitors don’t get tired, not until it’s over. So I’m very proud of their performance. I’m very proud of their dedication, and, again, now is the time we have to rest.”
Although coming home defeated, the Tigers are nothing but appreciative of the opportunity to make it this far with such a solid fan base behind them.
“We came in with nobody really expecting us to do anything, and I think that kind of propelled us to want to prove people wrong and we knew, with the coaching and the talent we had, we knew within ourselves that we could do it,” Davis said. “And I think that’s what we went out and did. That’s a testament to how hard we worked, how great of coaches we have. And it’s one that we’ll never forget.”
Melero made her last statement with a touch of Auburn flair.
“Ever to conquer, never to yield,” Melero said. “It’s in our fight song. That’s how I am going to end this year.”
The Tigers returned home to the McWhorter Center and Jane B. Moore Field on Monday afternoon, June 1, to open arms and warm welcomes from one proud Auburn Family.
“It takes a while to establish your own identity,” Myers said. “The identity we have currently is a lot different than the identity that we had three years ago as far as a softball program. Because they’re sitting in the room, our legacy needs to be that of what Florida is now. And we’re moving towards that.”
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