March 9, 2002

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina (16-7) softball team split a doubleheader with the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks (16-7) in the opening weekend of SEC competition. The Gamecocks opened by winning game one as Megan Matthews pitched her fourth consecutive shutout and helped lead USC to a 4-0 victory. Carolina fell 5-2 in game two, as Aleca Johnson earned a no decision in her first pitching start of the season.

Left fielder Adrianna Baggetta led the team at the plate in game one by going 3-for-3 including a double and a triple. Melissa Sandel contributed to the victory when she led off the second inning with her first home run of the season, Carolina’s tenth overall.

Matthews (9-2) pitched her ninth complete game of the season as she retired straight 15 batters. The Lady Razorbacks did not have a base runner for four and two-thirds innings. The only runner to reach base for Arkansas after the second inning was a two out walk in the seventh.

USC’s final run of the game came in the fourth when Baggetta led off with a triple and scored on a bunt single by Jodi Fittro. The win extended USC’s win streak to seven and Carolina improved to 5-1 in SEC openers.

In game two, Arkansas jumped on the board first when Cortney Mitchell and Danica White scored on a two-out double by left fielder Julie Young. In her debut as a starter, USC’s Johnson pitched four and two-thirds innings and allowed two runs on four hits.

In the third, Fittro led off with a walk and Amber Curtis singled to give Carolina two runners on with one out. Junior Debralee Troesh then singled but errors by Mitchell and Blaire Woodward allowed USC to score Fittro and Curtis and to tie the game 2-2.

The game remained tied until the sixth when Stacey Johnson (4-3), who came in for relief during the fifth, allowed Mitchell to lead off the inning with a walk. Mitchell advanced on a sacrifice bunt and tagged up for third on a fly out. With two outs and Mitchell on third, Matthews was brought into the game to try and get the Gamecocks out of the inning. The Lady Razorbacks’ stayed alive when White hit an RBI single to score Mitchell and give Arkansas the 3-2 lead.

Arkansas pitcher Heather Schlichtman (11-6) retired the next six USC batters and the Lady Razorbacks added two more runs in the seventh to hand the Gamecocks their first conference loss and to split day one of the series. The loss ended USC’s longest win streak of the season at seven games.

The two teams return to action tomorrow as the rubber game of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Beckham Field.