A seven run deficit couldn’t stop the Tigers from adding to their seven game winning streak Friday night, March 4, at Jane B. Moore Field. Auburn mounted a huge comeback in the fourth inning to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers 8-7 in extra innings in the first round of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic.
“The first three innings were not Auburn,” said Auburn coach Clint Myers. “What you saw starting in the fourth was Auburn.”
A grand slam from Indiana’s CaraMia Tsirigos gave the Hoosiers a 4-0 lead over the Tigers in the first. In the third they extended their lead to 7-0, and Auburn starting pitcher Marcy Harper exited to make way for Makayla Martin.
Martin was able to close the top of the inning, and Auburn faced a hard realization.
“When you’re on the field and you’re down seven–nothing [7-0] in the fourth inning, and you’re one run away from getting run-ruled on your own field, it gets something to you,” said Auburn third baseman Kasey Cooper. “We might not have started this [like] Auburn softball, but we're going to finish like it.”
The Tigers began their rally with back-to-back solo home runs from Emily Carosone and Cooper. Cooper’s marked the 43rd shot of her career, and the most in program history.
“You’ve still got twelve outs left,” Myers said. “It was all about putting some numbers up on the board and letting it play out the way it did.”
Auburn cut the lead 7-4 before the end of the fourth and continued to add runs throughout the fifth and sixth, tying the game at seven before the final out. Auburn kept their momentum up through the seventh inning and into extras. Rachel Walters came in to seal the deal for Auburn.
“Makayla came in and shut the door, then Rachel came in and put a few nails in that door,” Myers said. “Overall it was a very good team effort.”
A walkout win gave Auburn the victory after a sacrifice fly from Madi Gipson. The win was a strong testament to Auburn’s character, according to Myers, and was much needed as Auburn prepares for SEC play.
“We’re opening up against some team called Florida, who’s ranked No. 1 in the country," Myers said. "They’re a great two-time defending national champion, and we play them tough anytime that we’ve played them so far. Anything that we do to get ourselves better and build and strengthen our character, our fight, determination, our will power like you saw tonight is only going to make those games better.”
Auburn will return to action in the second round of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic, Saturday, March 5, with the first pitch set for 12:30 p.m. against Murray State University at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn.
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