April 12, 2005
Rock Hill, S.C. – South Carolina took another hit in softball Tuesday as the Gamecocks were shut out 2-0 by the Winthrop Eagles and finished game two with a 0-0 tie. This marked the first time for the Gamecocks since 2001. Game two of the doubleheader was suspended and called in the top of the seventh inning with a scoreless tie. USC is now 24-21 on the season while the Eagles are 25-17.
Meghan Cornett went 3-for-6 for the series as USC combined for seven hits on the night. Lisa Longo was the only other Gamecock to post a hit in both games as well.
In game one, Jenny Scrimygeour put Winthrop on the board when she hit a solo home run off of Kate Pouliot in the second inning and put the Eagles ahead 1-0. Winthrop had a chance to score a run in the first with runners at first and second but a heads up play by McKenna Hughes and Ashley Smith threw out Katie Kipisz, who attempted to score from second, at the plate and prevented the run from scoring.
In the top of the third, Jessica Josker drew a two-out walk followed by a single by Cornett and a walk by Hughes to load the bases. USC had the chance to score but Stefanie Norman fouled out to the catcher and stranded the runners to end the inning.
Winthrop extended its lead in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI double by Lindsey Merriman who was able to drive in Stephanie Reid after drawing a two-out walk to reach base safely. That would be all the Eagles would need to record their first win against the Gamecocks since 1983.
USC would be unsuccessful in accumulating base runners as they would only see two more in the final four innings. Kelli Johnson (12-8) held the Gamecocks to three hits in the seven innings she pitched and struck out six batters. Pouliot (6-8) gave up the two runs on six hits and struck out four.
Game two was called due to heavy rain. In the top of the seventh inning, Darcy Norem was at bat and on a 0-1 count, with two outs, officials suspended the game at 8:13 p.m. Ten minutes later, the game was called and went down in the books as a 0-0 tie.
Aleca Johnson was the pitcher of record for the Gamecocks as she pitched six innings and gave up three hits while Shahna Ashard threw 6.2 innings and allowed four hits with eight strikeouts. Hilary Peacock recorded two of the three hits while Lauren Blaser contributed one.
USC squelched an opportunity to score in the fourth inning when Chrissy Schoonmaker and Lisa Longo had a double steal and advanced to second and third, only to get stranded on a third out ground out.
The last time the Gamecocks had a tie was in 2001 against Stanford at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The score of that game was 0-0 as well.
The Gamecocks have been shut out in five of their last eight games and have not scored more than two runs in a game since April 3 against Kentucky.
Game 1
Team 123 456 7 R H E
USC 000 000 0 0 3 0
WIN 011 000 0 2 6 0
WP: K. Johnson (12-8)
LP: Pouliot (6-8)
Game 2
Team 123 456 7 R H E
USC 000 000 0 0 4 1
WIN 000 000 X 0 3 0
WP: None
LP: None
