April 11, 2009
Box Score | Strike Out Cancer gallery 
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina came back again on No. 4 Alabama, this time on freshman Kristen Stubblefield’s two-RBI double, to propel the Gamecocks to a 6-5 win over the Crimson Tide in the final game of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon at Beckham Field.
Alabama (33-8, 11-6 SEC) scored first, getting a two-out double from Cassie Reilly-Boccia followed by an RBI single by Charlotte Morgan. South Carolina (17-17, 4-14 SEC) knotted things up in the bottom half of the frame when junior Lindsay Walker worked a bases-loaded walk out of a nine-pitch at bat, plating junior Adele Voigt, who drew a walk earlier in the inning.
The Tide took the lead back in the third, with the rally starting when Brittany Rogers took second on a throwing error by the Gamecock pitcher. Rogers would score two batters later when Morgan hit the ball off the right-field wall. With runners at first and third, South Carolina came back to catch pinch runner Lisa Elizondo trying to steal second before starter Audrey Broyles got Lauren Parker to fly to center for the third out.
The Garnet and Black responded in the bottom of the third. Freshman Evan Childs singled with one out, and Walker followed with her second walk of the game. After a strikeout, head coach Joyce Compton went to the bench for senior Jacqueline Wetherbee, and she delivered her second pinch-hit homer of the season, this one clearing the wall in center, to put South Carolina back on top, 4-2.
Alabama went back ahead in the fourth, first tying the game on the two-RBI single by Whitney Larsen. Kelley Montalvo followed with a hit through the box, sending home Larsen.
That 5-4 Alabama lead would stand until the bottom of the sixth, when South Carolina struck again. A hit by pitch of Wetherbee started the comeback, and sophomore Laura Mendes got a one-out hit to put the potential go-ahead run on base. Senior Cagney Davis delivered a pinch hit off Alabama reliever Charlotte Morgan to load the bags. Stubblefield knocked the ball down the left field line fair by two feet for a double, pushing home the tying and go-ahead runs. The Tide brought in freshman Amanda Locke, who got the final two outs of the inning on infield pop ups to end the frame.
Compton called upon Broyles to come back in to finish it, and she did just that with three fly outs to end the contest.
Freshman Kierstyn White (6-2) got the win, allowing one earned run on four hits and one walk in three innings of relief. Broyles picked up her second save, using just eight pitches to get the fourth, fifth and sixth hitters in Alabama’s lineup to close out the game. Kelsi Dunne (17-2) got the loss for the Tide, allowing all six earned runs on four hits and four walks while fanning six.
The win hands the Gamecocks their first series win over Alabama since 2001, and it marks the first time South Carolina has taken a series from a top-five team since April 6-7, 2004, when the Gamecocks captured two of three at home against Georgia.
Prior to the game, South Carolina had ceremonial first pitches thrown by three people affected by breast cancer as part of the “Strike Out Cancer” effort the team was hosting, including team manager Haydn Campbell, Renee Chastain, the mother of South Carolina pitcher Ashley Chastain, and Alabama freshman Reilly-Boccia. The Crimson Tide wore pink jerseys, while the Gamecocks had special black jerseys with pink writing and numerals to go with pink socks as part of the campaign.
South Carolina concludes the home stand on Wednesday against USC Upstate. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Beckham Field.
