5 Auburn football players who have risen their stock in spring practice
SPORTS

Lexi Davis nearly flawless from circle in 4-1 Auburn win

James Crepea
Montgomery Advertiser
Lexi Davis came in for 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in Auburn's 4-1 win over Tennessee Tech Friday.

AUBURN – What a relief.

Lexi Davis came in for 3 2/3 scoreless innings of relief and Morgan Estell went 1 for 2 with two RBIs to lead No. 4 overall seed Auburn to a 4-1 win over Tennessee Tech at a sold out Jane B. Moore Field Friday night.

Davis (22-2) entered the game for Rachael Walters following a one-out single to right in the fourth and retired the next eight Golden Eagles batters, striking out four. A leadoff walk in the seventh was the only blemish on the line for Davis, who earned her fifth win in the last seven appearances.

"I think my drop ball was working well," Davis said. "I think the biggest thing for me was my off-speed."

It took a little while for Auburn's bats to break through, but eventually the Tigers took advantage of an uncharacteristic walks by Tennessee Tech ace Danielle Liboratore (19-12), who entered the game with just 76 in 210 innings this season.

"We knew that she throws the change-up and it's a good change-up," said Auburn coach Clint Myers, who picked up his 1,000th career college softball victory. "She throws it for strikes and she throws it in all counts."

The Tigers (50-9), who will play South Alabama at noon today, got on the board in the fourth on high chopper off the bat of Estell that scored Branndi Melero to tie the game at 1.

Estell, who drew a bases loaded walk in the fifth, said she anticipated the change-up on the RBI double.

"She basically threw me the same sequence the last at bat," Estell said. "So I was ready for it."

Haley Fagan's sac fly to center plated Carlee Wallace to put Auburn up 2-1 at the end of four.

Kasey Cooper (2 for 3) tacked on another run with an RBI single up the middle to score Tiffany Howard and Estell's RBI walk made it 4-1 after five.

Liberatore didn't allow an Auburn hit until the fourth, when Cooper led off the frame with a single to right, but she lost the zone and the Tigers took advantage. Three of the four Auburn runners to score reached base on walks.

"Had to find my zone, thought I did, then I kind of lost it" Liberatore said. "They were very patient hitters."

Tennessee Tech (32-27), which takes on Chattanooga in an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. today, struck first on a Kelly Kennedy first-pitch moon shot to left field off Walters to lead off the third.

It was only the third home run and seventh extra-base hit of the season for Kennedy, who leads the Golden Eagles with a .358 average.

"I was actually amazed I didn't foul it off," Kennedy said. "The joke on our team is I lead the team in foul home runs."

Walters got her fifth no-decision in six appearances, allowing one run on four hits and striking out one in 3 1/3.