Auburn, Ala. (EETV) - The No. 12 ranked Auburn Tigers hosted the No. 16 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in the first game of the SEC series here at Jane B. Moore Field. The Tigers looked to continue their winning streak after taking down Tennessee in Knoxville last weekend.
The Tigers ended up winning 5-4 in a close matchup, after the Gamecocks tied up the game in the top of the seventh inning. With the win, Auburn moves to 33 and 8 this season (9-4 in SEC).
In the bottom of the first, Auburn was up three runs. Thanks to Ashlee Swindle’s pitching, South Carolina was held at zero for the first four innings. Over the course of the game, Swindle pitched a total of eight strikeouts over six innings, a new career high for her.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kendall Veach hit her 18th home run of the season, bringing the Tigers’ lead to 4-0.
The Gamecocks responded in the top of the fifth with a homerun by Jordan Fabian, adding two runs to their score. From there, Kennedy Clark hit a single that brought in two more runs in the top of the seventh inning and tied up the game at 4-4.
When Chardonnay Harris came in to pitch in the seventh, the bases were loaded, but she struck out two and stopped South Carolina from gaining a lead.
“With the help of my teammates, I knew even though I gave up those two runs, we’re going to come back,” said Harris, “We do want this series.”
In the bottom of the seventh, thanks to a three-base error, Bree Fornis was waiting to run it home when Morgan Podany delivered a game-ending hit, the first of her career. Podany’s hit into right field ended the game with the Tigers up 5-4.
“I just took a deep breath, entered the box, and, you know, said, ‘Game on,’” said Podany of her game-winning hit.
The second game of the series will be played tomorrow, April 13 at 11 a.m. at Jane B. Moore Field.
