On a night when its high-powered offense was ineffective, No. 3 Auburn relied on its pitching to survive a 14-inning game at Mississippi State, 3-2, on Friday night. The game was the longest in Auburn history, lasting four hours and 45 minutes.
Ironically, a game that featured dominant pitching on both sides (Auburn had eight hits while Mississippi State had six) was ultimately decided by a pitching mistake. In the top of the 14th, a wild pitch from Bulldog reliever Regan Green allowed Kasey Cooper to score the go-ahead run from third base.
Kaylee Carlson relieved starter Makayla Martin in the fourth inning and pitched the final 10 innings, allowing just three hits while striking out 12 to improve her record to 6-0. She retired the first 16 batters she faced.
While the Tigers' (25-3, 2-2 SEC) pitching was dominant, Mississippi State's was as well. Alexis Silkwood pitched 13.1 innings for the Bulldogs, throwing 216 pitches along the way.
Auburn earned its first run early in the game on a first-inning RBI single by Jade Rhodes that scored Cooper from second base.
Mississippi State responded in the second with a pair of sacrifice bunts and a single by Caroline Seitz to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead. After the inning, Martin would be replaced by Carlson.
In the sixth, Rhodes would make another crucial play for the Tigers, launching a solo homer off the scoreboard to tie the game at 2-2. It was her eighth home run of the season.
Auburn has now won the three longest games in school history. The previous longest games the Tigers played were 13-inning wins over Florida State (5-4 in 2000) and Ole Miss (9-8 in 2009).
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