JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Scoring four unanswered runs in the last three entries, Auburn’s softball (5-1) was unsuccessful, while South Carolina’s No. 19 (2-1) held on and won 5-4 on Sunday at UNF Softball Complex in the tournament final. Osprey / Dolphin Invitational.
Gamecock ran races in three of the first four entries, taking a 6-1 lead in the fifth. The Tigers took the lead in the three winning entries, placing the victory road at the base at the bottom of the seventh, but failed to complete the return victory.
“We kind of gave in on the first four entries,” said the head coach Mickey Dean. “We didn’t play well. We didn’t hit well and we had a bad field selection. Our defense didn’t make good decisions. I think three times we lost the ball on the outside field and gave up another 60 feet, and that The runner ended up scoring. But I love our battle. In the last two innings, some boys got off the bench and made good defensive plays. It’s hard to go out and hit a hit and succeed, but we had some kids do it. Even though it was a defeat, I told them this is a great game to learn, but you have to be willing to learn from it as coaches and players. “
Leaving the bank, senior Tyler King led the Tigers in the tray with a 2 in 2. Junior Aspyn Godwin got his second home run of the weekend, going 1 to 3 with an RBI.
In his first season start, junior Samantha Yarbrough was marked with loss. In 3.2 working innings, the right-hand gave up six runs of six strokes and two walks. She hit four.
Redshirt senior Lexie Handley kept the Tigers in the game until late, launching the final 3.1 innings. She allowed only three hits, but kept South Carolina evenly matched with five eliminations.
A repeat of the first meeting between the two teams, South Carolina attacked first with two runs in the first round. After an initial walk, Mackenzie Boesel made a home run to the center.
Graduate player Alyssa Rivera led the bottom of the first before moving to the scoring position on the floor for the senior pitcher Kaylee Horton. Senior Makenna Dowell drove the first race of the Tiger game with a single RBI in the middle to cut the lead to 2-1.
Gamecocks added two runs in the third with a double Kassidy Krupit with two outs and two in the fourth with a double from Kenzi Maguire.
Tigers led in last place from fifth place with consecutive singles from the first Kelsey Schmidt and the hitter King. Second year Lindsey Garcia loaded the bases with no way out with a pinch walk.
South Carolina responded with two quick eliminations, but a mistake by Gamecock in the second caused two runs for the Tigers to reduce the lead to 6-3. Godwin reduced the lead to 6-4 with an individual home run to the left field at the end of the sixth.
King led the last of the seven with a single in the middle. With one eliminated, a pair of Gamecock errors put two Tigers in the scoring position. South Carolina pushed the card in choosing a fielder for the second inning exit. Junior Hitter Haley Nillen cut South Carolina’s lead to 6-5 with a single RBI in between.
South Carolina secured the victory with a ground ball for the first in the final.
TIGER TRACKS
- Freshman Sydney Cox made the first plaque appearance of his university career.
- Aspyn Godwin achieved his third home run of the season, bringing his career total to six.
- Alyssa Rivera reached the base safely in 18 consecutive games, dating back to the 2020 season.
- Makenna Dowell he tied his career up with his streak extending to eight consecutive games.
NEXT
Auburn returns to Jane B. Moore Field for Tiger Invite. The Tigers welcome Jacksonville, Murray State and IUPUI to the four-day tournament. Auburn opens the tournament on Thursday against Jacksonville at 5 pm CT.