University of Minnesota Athletics
Auburn Eliminates Green Bay, 9-1
5/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 17, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS – No. 21/22 Auburn bounced back from Friday’s opening loss to North Dakota State, as it eliminated Green Bay, 9-1, in five innings at the 2014 NCAA Division I Softball Minneapolis Regional.
Auburn, which recorded its 40th victory under first-year head coach Clint Myers, advances to this evening’s elimination game against North Dakota State, with the winner earning a spot on Sunday’s championship against Minnesota.
The regional title game is set for a 1:30 p.m. CT first pitch, and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. If the Gophers lose, a second game would follow, which also would be shown on BTN.
Auburn (40-18-1) wasted little time establishing a 1-0 lead, as sophomore second baseman Emily Carasone opened the game with her first triple of the season to dead center and scored on a grounder to second by freshman third baseman Kasey Cooper.
The Tigers broke things open in the second, as they scored five times to expand the lead to 6-0. The big inning was highlighted by a two-run double by Cooper and an RBI double down the left field line by junior right fielder Branndi Melero.
Green Bay (27-14) got on the scoreboard with a solo run in the bottom of the second, as senior catcher Shannon Butts tripled down the right field line and later scored on an illegal pitch thrown by Auburn’s sophomore right-hander Lexi Davis.
Cooper continued her strong performance in the top of the fourth, as she drove her 18th home run of the season over the wall in left center to give the Tigers a 7-1 lead and increase her season RBI total to 76.
Melero followed with a single, and she scored on a junior centerfielder Morgan Estell’s 18th double of the season. Sophomore third baseman Jade Rhodes then made it 9-1 in favor of Auburn, as she hit her eighth double of the year to the gap in right center to drive home Estell.
Senior right-hander Hilary Mavromat (3-2) relieved Davis and gets credit for the win. Cooper finished 2-for-3 with four RBI in the win, while Melero was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI and Estell was 2-for-3 with two RBI.
