63: Record-setting Kaylee Carlson, Makayla Martin 'earn it every day'

63: Record-setting Kaylee Carlson, Makayla Martin 'earn it every day'63: Record-setting Kaylee Carlson, Makayla Martin 'earn it every day'

April 8, 2018

By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com

AUBURN, Ala. - Unbeknownst to Kaylee Carlson, teammates Makayla Martin and KK Crocker were sneaking up from behind - mid interview - ready to dump a celebratory bucket of ice water.

It was the only thing that cooled off Carlson on Sunday.

Carlson became Auburn's winningest pitcher, earning career victory No. 63 with a three-hit shutout in a 6-0 series-clinching win against Tennessee.

"The changeup was definitely on and I think whenever that is working for me, my games are a lot better, a lot smoother," said Carlson, whose 17 wins this season lead the Southeastern Conference. "Being able to use that and the rise ball, and being able to stay on those lefties, is really what worked today."

Carlson had already won 18 college games when she arrived at Auburn as a sophomore in 2016 after a productive freshman season at North Carolina.

She will leave as the winningest pitcher in program history. Her former teammate, Lexi Davis, won 62 games for Auburn from 2013-16.

"I was ready to take on any role that they gave me," Carlson said. "It just happened to be this one."

The shutout, Auburn's 21st of the season, lowered Carlson's ERA to 0.66, second lowest in the SEC. Auburn's 0.92 team ERA leads the SEC. Martin pitched a one-hit shutout Saturday.

"What's incredible is they're getting better because they work hard," Auburn coach Mickey Dean said. "I'm still conditioning the pitchers. They're still running. They're still biking, and they're getting stronger. And that's what we need to have happen."

Pitching with a 6-run lead was something new for Carlson.

"We're used to a lot of close games. It's a tough conference," Carlson said. "When we got the six runs, I was more nervous. You don't score six runs very often in the SEC because the pitching is great. It was different, but it was a lot of fun.

"Today was probably the best hitting that I've seen out of them in the SEC so far, and I think that's key. Our team did great and it's a lot more fun. The games are more fun when we go out there and hit. Our team is lighter. The energy was great."

"You don't know anyone until you work with them every single day," said Dean, who serves as Auburn's pitching coach. "The work ethic that our pitchers have makes it very enjoyable.

"They earn it. Those two, our whole pitching staff, they go out there, they earn it every day."

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer