March 16, 2002
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The South Carolina softball team improved to 21-7 and 4-1 in the SEC as they defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-12, 0-2) in a doubleheader today. Megan Matthews (12-2) threw a complete game and earned a 4-2 victory as she allowed two runs off of two hits. In game two, USC won 5-2 as Stacey Johnson (6-3) pitched a shutout through six innings. The Gamecocks recorded a season SEC high nine hits in both games. Debralee Troesh went 4-for-4, including two doubles, in game one, while Adrianna Baggetta combined for 4-for-7 at the plate.
In the first game, the Gamecocks scored all of runs they would need to win in the first inning as Kim Evans reached base on a bunt single, and eventually scored on a double by Troesh to give USC a 1-0 lead. Melissa Sandel then singled to score Troesh and Baggetta followed with her second triple of the year to drive in two runs and to give Carolina a 4-0 lead.
The Bulldogs scored in the third inning on a sacrifice fly to cut USC’s lead to three. MSU attempted a rally in the seventh when Lindsay Nelson hit a two-out RBI single to score Kellie Wilkerson and cut Carolina’s lead in half. The rally was cut short when Kate Jaspers struck out looking to Matthews, ending the game 4-2.
The Gamecocks have won three consecutive games where they have scored in the first inning. Overall, USC is 8-2 in games where they have scored in the first inning.
The Gamecocks first scored in game two when Danielle Quinones hit an RBI single in the second inning, giving USC a 1-0 lead. Carolina added their final runs of the game in the fourth when Amber Curtis hit a two-run home run, her fifth of the season, to give the Gamecocks a 5-0 lead. Offensively, Curtis went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs while Sandel went 2-for-4. For the two games, Sandel went 4-for-8, scored three runs and had one RBI.
Stacey Johnson was just one out away from a complete game shutout before MSU scored on a wild pitch in the seventh. MSU’s Brooke Best then singled to score Nelson and cut the Gamecocks lead to three. With one runner on and two outs, Aleca Johnson came in for relief for USC and forced pinch hitter Jennifer Waterman to groundout for the third and final out of the game. Johnson earned her second save of the season.
The Gamecocks will attempt to sweep the series against the Bulldogs as they face each other for game three tomorrow at 12:30 (CT). USC is now 11-6 against MSU and 5-1 in Starkville.
