No. 19 Auburn evens the series at one game a piece with a five inning, 11-2 win via mercy ruleover South Carolina on Sunday at Jane B. Moore Field.
Junior KK Dismukes earned her first win of the season after coming on in relief of sophomore Shelby Lowe in the third inning. Dismukes allowed two hits and struck out one in her three-inning outing. Lowe got the start for the Tigers, but she was pulled following two complete innings after walking three and giving up two runs, one of them earned.
Auburn struck first in the bottom of the first inning. After freshman Rose Roach singled, freshman Nelia Peralta followed her up with a double to the wall in right-center to score Roach. Peralta was stranded, but the Tigers were up 1-0 after one inning.
South Carolina responded in the top of the second. With runners on first and third with two outs, a throwing error by Peralta allowed the run to score. The Gamecocks loaded the bases, but the Tigers managed to escape the frame with no more damage.
South Carolina struck again to take the lead in the top of the third inning. After a walk and a hit-by-pitch, the Gamecocks had runners on first and second with one out. A single scored another South Carolina run, but the Tigers once more got out of the inning with no further damage. However, the Gamecocks now held a 2-1 advantage.
The Tigers came roaring back in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead back from the Gamecocks for good. Sophomore Makayla Packer and Peralta both singled to put runners on first and third with one out, then freshman Jessie Blaine mashed a clutch homer for the second straight game to put the Tigers back on top 4-2.
With two consecutive four-RBI games, Blaine is now batting .571 against South Carolina in the series with a team-high eight RBIs. She hit a three-run bomb to send the game to extra innings yesterday, and her three-run dinger today put Auburn in the lead for good.
"I really just wanted to loosen up and have some fun this weekend," Blaine said. "We had a great showing our last SEC series, and we wanted to keep that energy going into this weekend. We were down after yesterday, but we knew that we had the ability to come in today and turn the tide around."
Freshman Bri Ellis followed up Blaine with a solo home run for her ninth bomb of the season to extend Auburn’s lead to three to make it a 5-2 score, and she made sure the Gamecocks knew it.
Auburn exploded for another big inning to extend its lead even further over South Carolina in the bottom of the fourth inning. After a Packer walk, Blaine hit a single with two outs to score Packer from third. Junior Lindsey Garcia also singled and advanced on the throw, putting runners on second and third with two outs.
After a South Carolina pitching change, the Auburn bats stayed hot in the fourth inning. Following an intentional walk to Ellis, senior Aspyn Godwin singled to plate two more runs, bringing the score to 8-2. Sophomore Denver Bryant then hit a three-run home run, bringing the score to the final 11-2 mark.
Dismukes sat down the Gamecocks in order to end any hope of a response in the top of the fifth inning. As a result, Auburn won by run-rule after five innings.
"Today we played as a team instead of as nine individuals," said head coach Mickey Dean. "We've got to keep that rolling if we want to win the series tomorrow."
The Tigers will take on the Gamecocks once again in the series-deciding game three tomorrow, March 21. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST at Jane B. Moore Field. The game will be broadcasted on SEC Network.
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Emily Porch is a senior from Sylacauga, Alabama. She joined The Plainsman in fall 2021.
Twitter: @emilycporch
