March 16, 2008

Oxford, Miss. - Tigers' pitcher Angel Bunner struck out the Rebels in order with the tying run at third in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Auburn softball team a 3-2 victory over Ole Miss in the longest game the Tigers had played since 2000.

Auburn improved to 25-4 overall and 5-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The Rebels dropped to 14-11 overall and 0-6 in the SEC. The Tigers return to action Tuesday, March 18, when they host the Arkansas Razorbacks in a double-header beginning at 5 p.m.

Bunner improved to 5-0 in throwing the final 1.1 innings in relief. Bunner was the fourth pitcher of the day for Auburn. Lauren Schmalz started and went 1.1 innings before giving way to Anna Thompson, who threw 3.0 innings. Brittany Day followed and went 5.1 innings before being replaced by Bunner.

The 11-inning game was the longest the Tigers had played since going 13 innings in a 5-4 win over Florida State on April 15, 2000.

"This was a hard-fought victory," Auburn head coach Tina Deese said. "Our pitchers, again, did a terrific job of keeping them off base and getting the out when we needed it. We had some great defensive plays and clutch hitting. This was a great team win."

The Rebels took advantage of a pair of Auburn errors to push across the first run of the day. Alyssa Faircloth reached on a throwing error by Schmalz and came around to score when shortstop Kyndall White threw high to first on a ground ball by Amber Tramp.

After being no-hit through the first 5.2 innings, the Tigers finally broke up the bid. With two outs in the sixth, Brittany Scott walked and moved to second on a passed ball. Myesha Finney then laced a single to shallow left field to score Scott and even the game at 1-1.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, freshman Krista Clyde made a game-saving catch. Ole Miss' Lauren Rowe drove a 1-1 pitch towards the wall in center. But Clyde made a leaping catch, grabbing the ball just as it was going over the fence to end the inning with the scored knotted at 1-1.

In the top of the 10th, Clyde was automatically placed at second and moved to third on a wild pitch. Trosclair then hit a ground ball that was booted by the Ole Miss second baseman, allowing Clyde to score from third and give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

The Rebels, however, rallied and evened the game in the bottom of the 10th inning. Courtnie Ghinaudo came around to score from second on a single to center by Lauren Grill.

In the 11th, White moved from second to third on a sac bunt by Starr Dorsey. Clyde then brought White home with a sac fly to give the Tigers a 3-2 advantage.

In the bottom of the 11th, Rowe moved from second to third on a passed ball. But, Bunner never let the tying run cross as she fanned the Rebels in order to seal the victory for the Tigers.