No. 2 Auburn softball wanted to make a statement this weekend in its final slate of games before SEC play begins. <\/p>\n
Statement made. <\/p>\n
There was little in doubt in Auburns 15-0 win over Liberty on Thursday night. Auburn scored all 15 runs in the first two innings and Liberty didnt get a hit, or a runner on, until the third inning. <\/p>\n
I think the team as a whole decided to (relax), Auburn catcher Carlee Wallace said. I know it helps, Hitting is contagious, so, if I can go up there and give them a good at bat then well follow suit. <\/p>\n
The 40-minute bottom of the first inning saw seven runs, five walks, four hits, three pitchers throwing a combined 66 pitches and two home runs. Wallace led off the game with a solo home run. After a Kasey Cooper single, Haley Fagan hit a home run of her own, her third of the season, to put Auburn up 3-0. <\/p>\n
Liberty changed pitchers after that, but it didnt do much. Auburn scored a run on a walk, a Liberty error, a wild pitch and an RBI double by Wallace as Auburn batted around. <\/p>\n
The barrage continued into the second inning. Kendall Veach started the inning with a solo home run, her team-best fifth of the year. After a hit by pitch and two walks, Victoria Draper hit an RBI single, Wallace hit a bases-c learning double and Cooper drilled a two-run home run. Auburn added another run to finish off the second inning with a 15-0 lead. <\/p>\n
The offense reminded fans of days of old. Wallace had five RBIs in two innings, which is a career-high for her in a single game. The four home runs Auburn hit were the most since hitting four against Arkansas on April 17 last season. Auburn finished the day with 10 hits off of six different bats and drew 10 walks. <\/p>\n
The cuts tonight were lot better as far as attacking zones, Auburn head coach Clint Myers said. You take away the strike three looking with the bases loaded, we were pretty aggressive for the night. And thats the thing weve got to have. We didnt have nearly as many swing and misses, the ball club (Liberty) is better than what you saw. <\/p>\n
With the big lead, every Auburn position player found her way into the lineup in some way, shape or form. By the time the game came to a close, Veach was the only position player in her original spot when the game started. <\/p>\n
Liberty scattered three hits off of pitchers Kaylee Carlson, Ashlee Swindle and Jenna Abbott in the five-inning affair. Carlson went three innings, allowed one hit and struck out two. Swindle pitched the fourth inning, allowed two hits and Abbott pitched a clean fifth inning. <\/p>\n
Combined, Auburn pitchers totaled 64 pitches, compared to 166 by Liberty. <\/p>\n
Auburn will meet Liberty again in the Wilson\/DeMarini Classic, which begins Friday at 12:30 p.m. when the College of Charleston takes on Texas State before Texas State and Liberty clash at 3 p.m. Fridays play will wrap up at 6 p.m. when Liberty and Auburn square off again. <\/p>\n
And if Auburn can put up another game like it did on Thursday, the statements at the end of the weekend will be that Auburns bats are finally back. <\/p>\n
We talked about it before that we want to make a statement going into LSU. We want to put the fear of God into teams before we play them, Wallace said. Thats kind of our goal just to make a statement before we start SECs that were the team that we want to be and were not Auburn, that oh my God theyre No. 2? They dont deserve to be No. 2. But we do. And I think were finally starting to play like it. <\/p>\n
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Offense comes alive as No. 2 Auburn hammers Liberty - Opelika Auburn News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" No. 2 Auburn softball wanted to make a statement this weekend in its final slate of games before SEC play begins. Statement made. Continue reading