Walk in the park: Auburn beats Louisiana-Lafayette 12-11 in 8
AUBURN – If at first you don't succeed, try 14 more times and something crazy might happen.
On a day that saw six different Auburn hitters fail to reach base with the bases loaded during the first four innings, the Tigers mounted an incredible five-run rally. Thanks to five bases-loaded walks with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and Whitney Jordan's grounder to second scoring Haley Fagan, Auburn came back to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette, 12-11 in eight innings, before a sellout crowd of 1,700 at Jane B. Moore Field on Friday afternoon.
"We definitely don't try to do that," second baseman Emily Carosone said. "I think that just shows what kind of team Auburn is: we don't give up, and you're going to have to play a full seven innings with three outs to finish the game with us."
The craziness began in the seventh when Morgan Estell (1 for 5), who later tied the game at 11 in the eighth with an RBI double to center, walked to load the bases, the fifth inning Auburn found itself in such a spot on Friday.
Auburn (53-9) was 0 for 8 with six strikeouts and a walk with the bases loaded during the first four innings, a span of futility spanning six different hitters to continue a mind blowing 0 for 14 stretch with 10 strikeouts and two walks with the bases loaded dating back to the second inning of the SEC Tournament Championship on May 9.
However, the next five Auburn batters all walked, part of 16 on the day, two on full counts, including Kasey Cooper, whose RBI walk tied the game at 10.
Carosone's walk was highly unusual. After starter Jordan Wallace fell behind 2-0, ULL brought in Christina Hamilton to pitch but she was called for too many warm-up pitches on a pair of underhand throws to third from the circle, which counted as balls.
"I didn't know that rule, she had to be in the circle," Carosone said. "But she was definitely throwing more than she was allowed and I knew that."
Ragin' Cajuns coach Michael Lotief said he was surprised the umpires allowed for both throws by Hamilton to occur, but said it wasn't the reason why ULL (42-11) lost and now faces elimination today.
"We can accept responsibility for giving that game away," Lotief said. "We're not going to look at umpires or the opponent, we're going to look at ourselves and accept responsibility for it, and I accept responsibility. We should have found a way to win that game. …
"Sometimes you outplay somebody, (and) you don't get the victory. We understand how hard we fought. We understand how good we are."
After the first three Auburn batters all reached base against Hamilton (12-4) to open the eighth, Alex Stewart came in to strikeout Jade Rhodes.
Though first base was open, ULL elected not to walk Jordan, a .120 hitter who came in to pinch hit, to create a force at every base.
Asked by the coaching staff if she could deliver a ground ball, Jordan responded affirmatively.
"That little freshman got up there and got the big ground ball for us and that was huge," Auburn coach Clint Myers said. "She has really been hitting the ball good all week long (in practice)."
Lotief said it was "the right strategy … the only strategy" not to walk Jordan even with Auburn's inability to hit with the bases loaded as of late.
Even with the miraculous comeback, Auburn left 20 on base, which Myers said was a "personal record" in his 40-year career.
"Those are the things you go home and you sit and you start pulling your hair out," he said, "because we're a much better ball club than leaving that."
Estell, Carosone, who also struck out and grounded out with the bases jammed before drawing one of the walks in the seventh, and Rhodes, who struck out before also walking in the seventh, all conceded they've been pressing.
"You want to score the run so bad," said Estell, who struck out twice with the bases loaded on Friday. "But they say it all the time, relax, it just takes a ground ball."
ULL starter Jordan Wallace threw 208 pitches in 6 2/3 innings, allowing 10 runs, eight earned, on nine hits and 13 walks with nine strikeouts.
"I'm not really concerned with how many pitches I threw," said Wallace, who got a no decision after a working out of numerous jams. "I just wanted to get the win. Honestly I wanted to do it anyway possible."
Auburn's trio of arms, which began with Marcy Harper (seven runs on eight hits and a walk in four innings) and later included Rachael Walters (three runs on three hits and three walks in three innings) and Lexi Davis (23-2, one run on one hit and two walks), were not very effective as ULL clubbed four home runs.
But in a series featuring two of the top scoring teams in the country, Auburn scored more than ULL, even if it didn't have much by the way of timely hitting.
"It goes back to everything we've been talking about with the resiliency," Myers said. "This team figuring out ways to win."
--
No. 4 seed Auburn (53-9) vs. No. 13 seed Louisiana-Lafayette (42-11)
WHEN: 11 a.m. & if necessary, 2 p.m. today
WHERE: Jane B. Moore Field, Auburn
ON THE AIR: TV – ESPN
NOTEWORTHY: Auburn is 21-7 against ranked opponents this season. … Auburn is 31-3 at Jane B. Moore Field this season. … Tigers shortstop Haley Fagan went 3 for 5 on Friday. … ULL catcher Lexie Elkins hit a solo home run to up her national leading total to 32.