Auburn 2, Samford 1
AUBURN, Ala. ---- Samford traveled to Auburn on a chilly
Wednesday night, looking to pull the upset over their in-state SEC foe. The Bulldogs held the lead late but a
sixth-inning rally by Auburn ultimately gave them the slim 2-1 victory over
Samford.
Samford (2-3) came close to pulling the upset thanks to
another great performance by Mollie Hanson (2-2) in the circle, allowing only
two runs off three hits with seven strikeouts.
The offense collected four hits with Casey Clark driving in the
Bulldogs’ only run of the game in the fifth inning.
Auburn (6-0) stays undefeated on the young season as
freshman Hoover, Ala., native Marcy Harper (3-0) earned the win in the circle,
allowing one earned run off four hits.
McKenzie Kilpatrick and Caitlin Jordan, batting fourth and fifth, batted
in the Tigers’ two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The first real scoring threat of the game came in the bottom
of the fourth, as Auburn’s Morgan Estell drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed
over to second by Branndi Melero. A
groundout to third held Estell at second with two down and a groundout to
Hanson in the circle kept the runner stranded as it remained scoreless through
four innings.
Callie Brister broke up Harper’s no-hitter in the top of the
fifth with a single that dropped just past the infield in shallow center. Abby Adams, pinch-running for Brister, was
sacrificed to second by Hannah Taylor and Clark followed that up with a double
through the right side that went just under the diving second baseman’s glove,
scoring Adams to move the Bulldogs up 1-0.
A strikeout and a groundout would end the inning with Samford leading
1-0.
A one-out walk and a groundout put another runner in scoring
position for Auburn in the bottom half of the fifth inning. Auburn shortstop Kelsey Bogaards stretched
the at-bat to a 2-2 count but struck out to end the inning and strand the
potential tying runner at second as the Bulldogs held the 1-0 lead through five
innings.
With one out in the top of the sixth, Megan Dowdy punched a
single through the left side and Madison Dickey followed that with a double
down the right-field line to put two runners in scoring position with one
out. On a 2-2 count, Alex Adams was hit
in the foot by a pitch which loaded the bases.
Brister grounded out to third, reaching on a fielder’s choice as Dowdy
was tagged out at home, keeping the bases loaded with two out. Taylor made good contact but a fly ball hung
up just long enough for the Auburn center-fielder to get under it, stranding
the bases loaded as the Bulldogs couldn’t build on their 1-0 lead.
Auburn’s Tiffany Howard broke up Hanson’s no-hitter to lead
off the bottom of the sixth, dropping a double into left field that landed just
past the glove of a diving Kayla Shaffer.
Turning back to the top of the order, Hanson walked Estell to put two on
with nobody out. Melero got under a bunt
attempt and popped up to Clark at third for the first out. Hanson froze Brooke Lathan on a called third
strike for the second out but a single into left field by Kilpatrick tied the
game at 1-1 as she advanced to second on the throw, putting two in scoring
position with two out. Jordan followed
that up with another single through the left side to give Auburn the late 2-1
lead with runners at the corners and still two out. A fly ball to left field limited the damage
but put the Bulldogs in a must-score situation in the top of the seventh.
With one out in the top of the seventh, Wilder was hit by a
pitch to put the potential tying run at first.
A quick lineout and fly ball would end the game however as the Bulldogs
dropped the heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Auburn.
Samford will head to Spartanburg, S.C., for the Firehouse
Subs Spartan Invitational, hosted by USC-Upstate. The Bulldogs will play four games starting
with Winthrop on Friday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m. ET.
Samford will then play George Washington on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET and
Bowling Green (9 a.m. ET) and USC-Upstate (1 p.m. ET) on Sunday. The game versus USC-Upstate will be live
streamed for free at www.asun.tv.