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One swing of the bat can make all the difference. Tonight was the ultimate proof of that.
Senior Lexi Davis, who had not pitched during the College World Series so far, got the start for Auburn. She pitched a fantastic game overall except for one bad pitch to Sydney Romero that resulted in a 3-run home run to give the Sooners a 3-0 lead in the 3rd inning.
Auburn managed to get base-runners on in almost every inning, but struggled to do anything with it. The game began with Kasey Cooper getting on board, but she was thrown out at 3rd trying to stretch a play that probably should have been left alone. Auburn struggled most of the night at the plate.
That is, as has so often happened, until the end of the game. With the score 3-0 and Auburn down to its last three outs, the Tigers got a runner on 1st and Jade Rhodes launched a bomb to deep center field to make the score 3-2. An error on the pitcher put two runners in scoring position with only one out.
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough. On a hit to 1st, the Oklahoma 1st baseman threw home to get the out at the plate. Tiffany Howard popped out to end the game, and Oklahoma took Game 1 with a score of 3-2.
Winning 2 against Oklahoma was always going to be tough. Now Auburn has to try to do it twice in a row. The Tigers are on the ropes with the season on the line.