OKLAHOMA CITY -- A walk-off walk by Auburn that put UCLA out of the WCWS in 2015 would go unanswered in this year's contest. The opening round matchup pushed the Tigers into the winners bracket with a 10-3 domination over the Bruins.
"We had one little hiccup there in the middle, but it's about how you finish," said Auburn head coach Clint Myers. "We followed the Auburn plan. We played great defense, no errors, minimal amount of walks and great pitching in the circle and we surely had timely hitting."
Auburn opened up a 5-0 lead in the first with just one hit from Kasey Cooper. Tiffany Howard lead the inning with a hit by pitch and Cooper followed with a double to put the two in scoring position. Carlee Wallace walked to load the bases and Jade Rhodes took the second hit-by-pitch of the inning to put Auburn up 1-0.
UCLA starter Selina Ta'amilo exited after 13 total pitches and reaching a total of 24 hit pitches on the season. Left hander Paige McDuffee entered in time for Haley Fagan to sacrifice a fly ball put Auburn up by two. Madi Gipson was plunked to load the bases and Whitney Jordan followed by taking a ball to the back of her helmet. Wallace tallied another run for a 3-0 Tiger lead.
"Find a way on," said Rhodes. "If that means getting hit by a pitch and getting bruises or putting the ball in play and making them make plays that's really what our motto is - just find a way on."
Victoria Draper reached on a muffed throw and advanced to second as two more Auburn runs scored. Tiffany Howard closed out the inning on a ground ball to shortstop, but not before the Tigers had a 5-0 lead over the Bruins.
"It was an unusual inning but it is what we do," said Myers. "We take advantage of what they give us."
Auburn left two runners stranded in the second inning but returned in the third to score two more thanks to an Emily Carosone RBI single. Draper and Howard were the only two to reach home plate before Wallace grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning with the Tigers up by seven.
Not giving up the fight, UCLA responded in the top of the fourth with a Mysha Sataraka home run high over left field to plate three and put the Bruins on the board. Auburn responded with back-to-back doubles from Rhodes and Fagan to make it an 8-3 game.
Kaylee Carlson tossed a complete game for the Tigers, allowing seven hits on 101 pitches and finishing with a 2.16 ERA. UCLA went to the bullpen three times, combing for 9 hits, 10 runs, four hit batters and a 3.60 ERA.
"We came in with a plan, we came in with a goal, and we executed that plan" said Cooper. "We're excited that we're only four games away. We're four wins away."
Auburn will face Georgia in game five at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday.
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