Auburn is headed back to Oklahoma City.

After forcing a deciding Game 3, the No. 4 seed Tigers defeated Arizona, 6-1, Sunday afternoon at Jane B. Moore Field to win an NCAA Super Regional and advance to the Women's College World Series for the second straight year.

"These girls played an outstanding two games," Auburn coach Clint Myers said. "They beat a very, very good Arizona team and I tell you, they did it because of the fact that they stayed with the plan, they were pulling for each other, they went out and executed the things that needed to be executed.

"We got great pitching, we played good defense and we had timely hitting. That's kind of the chemistry."

Auburn will face No. 12 seed UCLA, which upset No. 5 seed Oregon, at 1:30 p.m. CT (ESPN) Thursday in Oklahoma City. The Tigers defeated the Bruins, 11-10 in 10 innings, in last year's WCWS.

The expectation all year for Auburn was to get back to OKC, where the Tigers believe they'll be more comfortable after playing four games in last year's WCWS before being eliminated by Florida in the semifinals.

"We're more prepared this year," second baseman Emily Carosone said. "The first time we went it was new to us. The only ones that had ever been to the World Series was coach. Now we know what to expect.

"We know what the field's like -- we know it's a little hard, we know that the foul lines are farther than ours. We know how it goes there now. We're excited."

Rewind: Auburn softball beats Arizona in NCAA Super Regional Follow along for live updates from Games 2 & 3 of the NCAA Super Regional between No. 4 seed Auburn and Arizona

Kaylee Carlson was a tactician in the circle in Game 3, allowing one run on nine hits in a complete game victory to improve to 17-2 and avenged her loss in Game 1.

"It's a great feeling to know that I get a second chance and to go out there," Carlson said, "and show them that we are better than them and that we deserve to go to Oklahoma City."

After being held to just two hits in a 5-3 loss in Game 1, Auburn (54-10) finally figured out how to hit Arizona ace Danielle O'Toole, who took the loss in both Games 2 and 3 Sunday.

"I thought it was important to get the first game, which we did," Arizona coach Mike Candrea said. "Then obviously yeah, when you go to and run (O'Toole) out there, I'm not playing for the third game, I'm playing for two games.

"That did present a little bit of a challenge but you're still in the ballgame. You still have to be able to compete and do the things that you need to that their game. If there was one disappointment, I had it's that I thought our energy was not quite where it needed to be after that second game until we got our backs against the wall."

O'Toole threw 155 pitches during the first two games of the series and lasted just three innings with throwing 55 more in Game 3, allowing four runs, two earned, on three hits and struck out two.

She didn't blame fatigue for her struggles on Sunday, attributing it more to adjustments from Auburn's hitters after seeing her several times this weekend.

"I think that when they see you more than the one time it gets a little bit difficult for you," O'Toole said. "I have to be better. I do."

Auburn took an early 2-0 lead in the first thanks to an RBI single by Kasey Cooper, who later scored on a sacrifice fly by Carlee Wallace.

A costly miscue in the field by Wildcats third baseman Katiyana Mauga on a grounder by Wallace allowed two runs to score, one earned, to give Auburn a 4-0 lead in the third.

Mauga, Arizona's leader in home runs (21) and RBI (62), went just 1 for 10 in the Super Regional.

"I guess I wasn't swinging at my pitch," she said. "Can't really do anything if I wasn't seeing the ball big, but I was just giving away at-bats."

Haley Fagan, who had a two-run double to fuel a 4-1 Auburn win in Game 2, hit a solo home run to left to make it 5-0 in the fifth.

Haley Fagan delivers double, home run to help lead Auburn softball past Arizona Haley Fagan broke out on Sunday, delivering a pair of critical hits to help lead Auburn to a pair of wins over Arizona in an NCAA Super Regional to send the Tigers back to the WCWS.

Nancy Bowling, who also pitched 2.2 innings, hit an RBI single to put Arizona (40-21) on the board in the sixth. Bowling allowed one run on one hit and three walks.

Carosone (2 for 3) added an RBI single in the sixth to score Tiffany Howard, who had a two-run single in Game 2, for the final run.