April 27, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina softball team will play their final conference road series of the season as they travel to Auburn, Ala. for a three-game series against the Auburn Tigers, April 28-29. Saturday’s doubleheader is set for 2 p.m. (ET) as is Sunday’s single game. The Gamecocks enter the series 32-18, 10-12 in the SEC, while Auburn is 22-30, 7-18 in the SEC. This marks the final conference series of the season for the Tigers.

The Gamecocks lead the overall series against the Tigers, 18-12 and won the series last year, 2-1 in Columbia. South Carolina is currently tied for sixth in the SEC, and is third in the Eastern division, while Auburn is ninth overall and fifth in the West, and trying to climb back into the SEC Tournament race. Only the top eight teams in the conference advance to the tournament, May 10-12.

Auburn’s frontrunners at the plate include Ashley Arcuri and Holly Currie. Arcuri leads the team with a .303 average and Currie is hitting .298. Currie leads the team in actual hits with 45, followed by Arcuri and Sara Ghezzi with 40. Currie is also the long ball hitter for the Tigers with nine on the season. Pitching duties have been divided mostly between Anna Thompson and Currie. Thomspon is 11-15 with a 1.91 ERA and 262 strikeouts, which ranks her among the conference leaders. Currie is 9-11 with a 2.58 ERA and 144 strikeouts.

South Carolina is coming off of a two-game sweep to the 22nd-ranked Florida Gators earlier in the week. The Gamecocks have not won more then 12 conference games since 2003 and are hoping to jump over that mark this season with six more games left in the season. The Garnet and Black is 4-8 overall and 4-5 on the road against teams in the West. Currently, the Gamecocks are playing for seeds at the tournament ranging from fourth to eighth.

McKenna Hughes is the only Gamecock hitting above .300 in SEC games with a .324 average. Overall, she is hitting .318. Ashton Payne shares the lead with Hughes with a .321 overall average and a team leading, 50 hits. Payne is hitting .276 in SEC play.

All three games can be followed live via audio broadcast or Gametracker online at www.uscsports.com.