OKLAHOMA CITY – Four hours and 13 minutes after the first pitch, Auburn senior Morgan Estell drew a base loaded walk and junior Emily Carosone trotted home with the winning run in a thrilling, 11-10 victory over UCLA, Saturday evening at the Women’s College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Estell’s walk extended the Tigers’ (56-10) season as they will face No. 1 Florida at 1:00 p.m. ET tomorrow in the first semifinal. The Bruins’ season comes to an end at 51-12.
The game featured 21 runs, 28 hits, 19 RBI, 18 walks and 26 runners left on base. Auburn drew 13 free passes, a new WCWS record, while the teams shattered the combined record for free passes, which was 14. The runs, hits and RBI either were second or tied for second highest total in a WCWS contest.
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Auburn sent the game into extras after surrendering a 9-7 lead in the top of the seventh. A three-run Bruin seventh was highlighted by a go-ahead two-run long ball by freshman Maddy Jelenicki.
However, a fellow freshman in the opposite dugout wasn’t ready for the season to end. Auburn’s Carlee Wallace (pictured) stroked a game-tying double with no outs and sent the game into extras and set up Estell’s game-winning walk.
Wallace finished 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and four RBI. Senior Branndi Melero reached base safely in all six at bats. She was 3-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, two runs and three walks. Kasey Cooper and Estelle also walked three times apiece, while Carosone recorded two hits and scored three times.
Lexi Davis (26-2), who started and returned in the eighth, picked up the win in 5.1 total innings. She surrendered three runs on five hits with one strikeout and three walks.
Kylee Perez was 4-for-6 with an RBI for the Bruins. Gabrielle Maurice doubled, tripled and drove in four runs, while Ally Carda went 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Carda (32-8) suffered the loss in the circle, going a combine 8.2 innings.
In a wild third inning that saw 11 runs, seven hits, seven walks, five pitchers and four pitching, Auburn came out of it with a 6-5 lead. The Bruins took advantage of four walks and received a big three-run triple from Maurice to push five runs across and take a 5-0 lead.
That lead would be short lived in a six-run, five-hit bottom half for the Tigers. Auburn sent 10 batters to the plate and forged ahead, 6-5 when Wallace stroked a three-run double to leftcenter. Wallace’s double snapped a 0-17 bases loaded drought by the Tigers.
Mysha Sataraka’s sacrifice fly evened the game in the top of the fourth. Again, the Tigers did not waste time retaking the lead. Two walks and a Melero opposite field laser over the fence in left put Auburn up 9-6.
— Image courtesy of Zach Bland (Auburn University)