South Carolina Plays at No. 12/10 Georgia This Weekend

April 23, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Gamecocks close out the 2010 season on the road against top-15 opponents, starting the trek at No. 12/10 Georgia. Saturday’s doubleheader is scheduled for a 1 p.m. EDT start, while Sunday’s single game is slated for a 2 p.m. EDT first pitch. Follow the action via the live stats link at GamecocksOnline.com or the audio feed on Gamecocks All-Access.

Compton Calling It a Career at Season’s End
Joyce Compton, the winningest coach in South Carolina history in any sport, has announced she will retire at the end of the 2010 season, her 24th at the helm of the program.

Earlier this season, Compton won her 950th in her career in the Garnet and Black. She is the ninth coach in NCAA Division I history to win at least 950 games at one school, cementing her names alongside fellow legends like Arizona’s Mike Candrea and Michigan’s Carol Hutchins. Other Division I coaches to win 950 games at one school include JoAnne Graf (FSU), Elaine Sortino (UMass), Eugene Lenti (DePaul), Margo Jonker (Central Michigan) and Diana Ninemire (California).

Scouting the Georgia Bulldogs
The 12th-ranked team in this week’s National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll, Georgia brings a 37-8 record and a 12-game winning streak into the weekend’s action. The Bulldogs downed in-state rival No. 8/6 Georgia Tech on Wednesday, 6-3, at home. The Bulldogs ride a strong offense, with four starters tallying batting averages at or above .300. Georgia has both speed (107 stolen bases) and power (76 home runs, .597 team slugging percentage). Taylor Schlopy leads the group in most categories, including the slash stats (.437/.579/.765), runs (54) and stolen bases (27 in 30 tries). The trio of Brianna Hesson, Megan Wiggins and Ashley Razey provide some power, hitting 12, 10 and 10 home runs, respectively. Hesson also leads the team with 48 RBI, while Wiggins has swiped 15 bags, third most on the squad. Alisa Goler holds an on-base percentage of .542, second on the team, thanks to 43 walks.

Erin Arevalo is the staff ace, tossing 135.1 innings with a 2.17 ERA. She holds a 17-5 record, fanning essentially a batter an inning. Opponents hit .199 against her. Alison Owen stands at 10-0, getting all of her decisions in relief. She’s struck out 57 batters in 57.1 innings. Sarah McCloud, who tossed a perfect game against South Carolina in the 2008 series in Athens, is 7-1 with a 2.77 ERA, striking out 50 batters while walking 30 in 70.2 innings.

Gamecocks All-Time vs. Georgia
The most played opponent for the Gamecocks among their SEC brethren, South Carolina is 23-24 all-time against the border rival. In Athens, the Bulldogs own a 13-5 mark over the Garnet and Black, including taking the last eight. Interestingly, a team has swept this series every year for the past five, with the only South Carolina wins coming in 2007 at Beckham Field.

The Last Meeting – South Carolina vs. Georgia – March 21-22, 2009
Ninth-ranked Georgia swept a three-game series over South Carolina at Beckham Field in 2009.

A late comeback bid fell short in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader. The Gamecocks again threatened in the seventh. P.J. Fulmer led off with a single, and Lindsay Walker drew a walk next. Walker made a heads-up running play on Evan Childs’ grounder, stopping and running backwards on the ball to the second baseman, forcing a tag and keeping the throw from getting to first in time. Kristen Stubblefield came up and singled home pinch runner Sam Arbaugh. With the tying run at the plate and one out, Georgia starter Sarah McCloud held down South Carolina, as she got the final two batters on a fly out and a ground out to end the game. The Bulldogs got on the board twice in the first on an Alisa Goler RBI single up the middle and a Megan Wiggins sacrifice fly. Georgia added another in the second when Ashley Pauly, who led off the inning with a walk, scored when the throw trying to get out Christina Reed on her sacrifice bunt attempt went into the right-field corner.

Two Georgia pitchers combine for a two-hit shutout, as South Carolina lost a 10-0 decision in the second game of the doubleheader. Georgia posted a six spot in the first when 11 Bulldog batters came to the plate. Megan Wiggins had an RBI double, while Brianna Hesson had a run-scoring hit to follow. Reliever Kierstyn White forced in a run with a walk, and Taylor Schlopy got a two-RBI single on a ball she hit off White. The Dogs tacked on a run in the second and three more in the seventh to finish the victory.

A pair of two-out, three-run home runs propelled the Bulldogs past South Carolina, 6-0, in the final game of the series on Sunday. Georgia’s Alisa Goler hit her 11th blast of the year, in the third. That brought home Taylor Schlopy and Kristin Schnake, who reached base via a walk and a bunt hit, respectively, with two outs. The Bulldogs struck again in the seventh, as Schlopy drove the first pitch of her at-bat over the wall in center. That plated Kristyn Sandberg, who led off the inning with a double, and Maya Branch, who managed a one-out walk.

Carolina in the Month of April
Since 1984, the Gamecocks are 347-193-1 (.642) in the fourth month of the year and 320-170-1 (.653) in the Joyce Compton era. In April SEC games, South Carolina is 98-103 (.488).

South Carolina vs. Ranked Opponents
In history against foes ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll, South Carolina has an 87-156-1 (.359) mark. In 2010, the Gamecocks are 0-12 against ranked opponents, 0-5 against top-10 squads. Last season, the Gamecocks went 2-12 versus top-25 teams, with the two wins coming over a fourth-ranked Alabama squad on Easter/Strike Out Cancer weekend at Beckham Field.

Milks Snags SEC Freshman of the Week Honors
Freshman third baseman Hannah Milks has shown steady improvement all season, and last weekend’s outings against Mississippi State were a big step for her. She earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors on April 19 after hitting .500 on the weekend against the Bulldogs. The big day coincided with the Gamecocks’ first SEC win, as she went 3-for-3 with a career-best three runs scored in the 8-4 victory. She’s the first Gamecock to claim Freshman of the Week honors since Laura Mendes did it in 2008.

Back to Bash
Junior Laura Mendes ranks as the top Gamecock hitter returning from last year’s squad. Her powerful left-handed bat once again anchors the lineup, where she has at least matched her totals in every extra-base-hit category from a year ago.

Mendes leads the team in nine offensive categories, including these eight: batting average (.390), hits (53), runs (18), triples (2), home runs (3), RBI (31), on-base percentage (.417) and slugging percentage (.588). Mendes also tops the team and is second in the SEC with 14 doubles. The PDF version of the notes contains her standing in various career and single-season charts.

Schedule Ranks Among the Toughest
Head coach Joyce Compton always assembles a tough schedule for her squads, but the rise of the SEC has helped make that schedule automatically among the toughest in the nation the past few seasons. This year is no exception, as the Gamecocks are slated to face three of the top five and eight of the top 25 teams in the preseason polls this season. Of those 20 games against the preseason top 25, 14 of those games come away from Beckham Field. In fact, all 11 games against the preseason top 10 will happen in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Gainesville, Fla., and Athens, Ga., with the final two destinations marking South Carolina’s last six games of the year.

While facing three of the top five is rough, the Gamecocks have had tougher slates before in regular-season play. Twice South Carolina has faced four of the top five teams in the preseason NFCA coaches poll in 2001 and 2003 and three on two more occasions in 1997 and 1999. No sympathy came from Auburn, however, as the Tigers were slated to face all five top-five teams this year.

Bringing in the Palmetto State’s Best
The Gamecocks have been very active recruiting the best from their own state. The 2009 freshman class included Evan Childs and Kierstyn White, while the 2010 rookies include Briana Hamilton and Hannah Milks. The latter duo has gotten their chances, with Hamilton seeing time at all four infield positions and Milks concentrating on third base.

Still Looking for That Right Mix
Even with just 13 position players on the roster, South Carolina has still done quite the mixing and matching, trying to find the right player at each position. Junior P.J. Fulmer has started every game at catcher, but no other position has had the same starter in every contest. The closest spot is in center, as senior Adele Voigt has started all but the two games she missed with a leg injury. In 45 games, the Gamecocks have used 22 different defensive alignments behind their pitchers. In the same thought, the lineup has been shuffled many times too, with 40 different batting orders attempting to stimulate the offense.

The Glove Where Triples Goes to Die Came from This State, Too
South Carolina native Joe Jackson had a glove that was described as the place where triples go to die. This year’s Gamecock outfield could follow in the legacy of the great Jackson. Both senior Adele Voigt and sophomore Lauren Lackey have above-average speed that could help keep balls out of the gaps. And newcomer April Borchardt picked up three steals during the fall while covering a lot of ground when in the outfield. That trio was the opening-day starters, with Voigt shifting to center after claiming SEC All-Defensive honors in left in 2009, with Borchardt flanking her in left and Lackey in right.

The pitchers have allowed 55 doubles, but only seven triples have been given up by the Gamecocks in 2010. The outfield also has 12 assists, with the three listed above all making at least one. Lackey has made six, including five from right field, while Voigt has five from center.

Need Some Help in the Pinch
The shorter bench for the Gamecocks this season has shown up mostly in pinch-hitting situations. In 17 plate appearances, South Carolina pinch hitters are 4-for-19 (.211) with two RBI. Kandyce Redondo broke the ice in the first Arkansas game on March 17 with an infield single. Earlier in the year, Audrey Broyles brought home a run with a bases-loaded walk, while Kaitlin Westfall also has a run batted in off the bench. Last season, Gamecock pinch hitters hit .179 with eight RBI.