May 11, 2005

Gainesville, Fla. – The South Carolina Gamecocks will kick off the 2005 SEC Tournament when they face the Auburn Tigers (47-14, 21-8 SEC) Thursday at 11 a.m. at the University of Florida Softball Complex. The Gamecocks earned the No. 6 seed after claiming the Mississippi State series last weekend, while the Tigers are the No. 3 seed. USC (28-26-1, 11-16 SEC) is 15-12 at the SEC Tournament and is 5-3 in first round match-ups.

This marks the third meeting between the two teams at the SEC Tournament. The tournament series is tied 1-1. Last year, the Tigers eliminated the Gamecocks from the tournament with a 2-0 win. The Garnet and Black is looking for its first tournament win since 2003 after going 0-2 last year.

USC hopes to snap a six-game losing streak to Auburn. In the last six meetings, the Tigers have outscored USC 41-20.

Meghan Cornett and Jessica Josker lead the Gamecocks at the plate. The two have combined for 132 hits, 58 runs scored and 49 RBI. Josker currently leads the team in hitting with a .372 average while Cornett is close on her heels with a .371 average.

Auburn will look to Paige Jones who carries a .401 average into the tournament. Holly Currie is next in hitting with .392 and leads in the pitching circle with a 22-8 record and a 1.93 ERA.

In the double elimination tournament, the USC/Auburn winner/loser will meet up with the No. 2 Alabama/No. 7 Mississippi State winner/loser on Friday. Game times for Friday are 11 a.m. (ET) and 5 p.m. (ET).

All USC games can be heard live via the Internet on uscsports.com.