Auburn Softball falls 8-5 to No. 1 Florida

Auburn softball fell 8-5 to No. 1 Florida Sunday evening at Jane B. Moore Field.

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AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn softball fell 8-5 to No. 1 Florida Sunday evening at Jane B. Moore Field. With the loss the No. 3 Tigers drop to 22-3 (0-2) on the year while the Gators improve to 26-0 (2-0). The teams meet again on Monday for the series finale at 6 p.m.

“You never want to get swept. That part is huge,” said Auburn coach Clint Myers. “The key thing is we’ve got to put a complete game together. I thought our defense was outstanding today but we missed some key situational things (bunts) and didn’t have quite enough timely hitting. We have to get better at that.”

Auburn totaled three home runs in the loss while the Gators matched with three of their own. The game went back and forth with five lead changes over the first five innings before Florida was able to put the game away.

Senior Emily Carosone gave Auburn the early advantage with a solo homerun clearing the right field wall in the first inning. The second baseman ended the scoring threat the next inning catching a hard-hit liner and turning a double play at third base after Florida tied the ballgame at 1-1.

Florida added a two-run home run in the top of the third, then Tigers regained the lead in the bottom half of the frame care of back-to-back home runs by Kasey Cooper and Carlee Wallace. Cooper’s homerun scored leadoff batter Tiffany Howard who reached on a single that bounced over the shortstop’s head.

The Gators used another home run, this time a three-run shot, to go back up in the top of fourth and added another run to their tally in the fifth.

Auburn cut into the lead during their turn at bat in the fifth scoring a run off a Wallace single. Wallace was tagged out on the play and Kasey Cooper made the final out of the inning trying to steal home on a wild pitch but was also tagged out.

Wallace was able to salvage a run in similar fashion during the previous inning hustling to the backstop and throwing the ball to Lexi Davis who was covering home plate to preserve a run.

Marcy Harper started the game for Auburn and lasted three innings, allowing five earned runs. Rachel Walters took the loss (2-2) throwing one inning before turning the ball over to Lexi Davis as the senior finished out the game for the Tigers.

UP NEXT

Auburn and Florida square off Monday evening at 6 p.m. with the game broadcast on the SEC Network.