Auburn Drops Heartbreaker in Tallahassee

It pretty much came down to which team blinked first, and Auburn was the team that faltered in the bottom of the eighth inning in Tallahassee earlier today in the winner’s bracket of the regional.

Florida State’s Carsyn Gordon slapped a looping fly ball right toward the line in right field, where Alyssa Rivera dove and missed the catch, allowing the ball to roll all the way to the corner. Casey McCrackin had to come all the way from second base to make a desperation throw to home plate, but by then it was too late and Gordon slid safely in way ahead of the tag to give the Seminoles a 2-1 win. The defeat puts Auburn one loss away from elimination in the Tallahassee Regional.

Auburn jumped out on top 1-0 in the fourth inning when Casey McCrackin scored on Kendall Veach’s sacrifice fly. Florida State evened the score in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single of their own, and then both pitchers stayed out of trouble until the winner in extra innings.

Kaylee Carlson took the loss after pitching the complete game for Auburn, allowing seven hits including the walk-off. She was aided by the defensive play of the day, as Morgan Podany robbed a home run in left center field in the fifth inning.

Podany’s web gem saved Auburn momentarily, but Gordon’s home run put the Tigers into the elimination portion of the bracket. The Tigers will take the field later this afternoon against the winner of the Kennesaw State - Jacksonville State matchup that’s taking place right now. Auburn will see first pitch in that elimination game at 4 pm CST, and will need to defeat Florida State twice tomorrow if they plan on advancing to the Super Regionals.