March 28, 2010
| Coach Compton |
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Five errors on the Gamecock defense propelled Auburn (19-12, 5-6 SEC) to an 11-3 victory in five innings over South Carolina (10-22, 0-13 SEC) on Sunday afternoon at Beckham Field.
Elizabeth Eisterhold led Auburn’s offense with four RBI in a 3-for-4 effort. Lauren Guzman was 2-for-2 with three RBI, while Kelsey Cartwright and Amber Harrison both added two hits and two runs. Junior Laura Mendes went 1-for-2 with a triple and three RBI for South Carolina.
Kelley Smiley put the Tigers on the board in the second with an RBI single, while an errant throw brought home a second run. A pair of sacrifice bunts, including Guzman’s safety squeeze, brought Smiley around to score. Eisterhold drove in the first two runs in the third with a single to second, while Guzman followed with a two-out, two RBI single to plate Eisterhold and Cartwright.
The Gamecocks got on the board in the bottom of the third, getting a break when freshman Hannah Milks struck out with two down but got to first on a wild pitch. Sophomore Lauren Lackey worked a two-out walk ahead of Mendes, who tripled down the right-field line to score the two runners.
Auburn got the two runs back in the fourth when Eisterhold knocked a double to left center. The Tigers added two more in the fifth on Krista Clyde’s two-RBI double over the third-base bag.
South Carolina came back in the fifth and loaded the bases with three-consecutive hits ahead of Mendes, who lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score senior Adele Voigt. Auburn starter Anna Thompson came back to get a strikeout and a final fly ball to end the game in the fifth at 11-3.
Thompson (9-5) got the win, giving up three earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six. Junior Ashley Chastain (4-8) took the loss, allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits in 1.2 innings of work. Six of Auburn’s 11 runs were unearned, thanks to the five Gamecock errors, which is the second most given up this season.
The Garnet and Black hit the field again on Tuesday, taking on the Tar Heels of North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m. EDT in Chapel Hill, N.C.
