Gamecocks Set To Close Out Regular Season On The Road

LEXINGTON, Ky. —- South Carolina softball is set to close out the regular season with a three-game series at Kentucky this weekend. The three-game set opens Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET before continuing Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The weekend series concludes Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
 
All three games will stream on SEC Network + with Dave Baker and Joanna Lane on the call. All three games of the series have tickets available through the UKathletics.com ticket page, or by calling the UK Ticket Office.
 
GAMECOCKS IN THE SEC… AND OTHER FUN NOTES

• South Carolina comes into the SEC week with a 264-368 (.413) record all-time in SEC play.
• The Gamecocks have won the SEC once in program history (1997, the first year of the conference). Carolina went 25-1 that year in SEC play on its way to a first-place finish in the SEC East Division.
• Carolina has won 20+ SEC games in a season twice (1997 and 2002) and has won 10+ 13 times (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2018).
• The Garnet and Black posted a 9-14 record in 2019 SEC play. Carolina went 1-2 last year with a series loss to Georgia before the season was ended.
• With the South Carolina offense this season, as go Kenzi Maguire and Mackenzie Boesel as goes the production. Over the past 18 games the duo is leading the way at the plate, as Maguire has posted a .483 average on 28 hits while Boesel is hitting .357 on 20 hits. The duo has combined for 31 runs, 11 doubles, two home runs and 18 RBI over the course of those games. Maguire has recorded a stellar .545 on-base percentage during that time frame.
• Over the past 10 games Kassidy Krupit has stepped up, as well. She’s hitting a team-best .385 on 10 hits with five doubles.
• In SEC games this year, it’s been Boesel and Maguire the Gamecocks want at the plate with runners in scoring position. Boesel is 6-for-14 (.429) while Maguire is 6-for-10 (.600). Boesel has been great with two outs in conference games, as well, going 5-for-14 (.357).
• Boesel produced her 21st multi-hit game of the season in the Friday night game against Mississippi State while Maguire had her 15th, Krupit finished with her 11th while Katie Prebble had her sixth.
• For Boesel, it was her seventh of the year in SEC play. Her career best for SEC multi-hit games is nine (2018) while her career best in multi-hit contests for an entire season is 21 (2018).
• The last time South Carolina went on the road, it went to Florida earned its first win in the series since 2013, snapping a losing streak of 12-straight games to the Gators. It was their first win in Gainesville since 2002.
• In SEC games this year, Leah Powell has earned three of the four wins in the circle and started two-straight Friday night games. Cayla Drotar has the other SEC victory.
• South Carolina is still fighting for the chance to earn a postseason berth down the home stretch of the season. The SEC has had all 13 teams in the tournament each of the past three seasons (2020 excluded). The Gamecocks currently sit at No. 44 in the latest RPI. The lowest ranked SEC teams to reach the postseason (according to RPI) the past eight years? 50, 40, 37, 30, 33, 31, 41 and 47.
• 28 out of SC’s 47 games (60 percent of games) have been played against Top 35 RPI teams.  Counting three games vs. Kentucky, it becomes 31 out of 50 games (62 percent).
• Comparing to the 2019 Texas A&M team that reached the tournament:  28-25 overall, 46 non-conference RPI, 2-11 road record, 6-21 vs. Top 50, 14-25 vs. Top 100. 2021 South Carolina (with 3 games vs. 18 Kentucky to play):  25-22 overall, 4-8 road record, 7-21 vs. Top 50, 7-21 vs. Top 100.

 THIS IS CAROLINA… TRADITION LIVES HERE. 

• South Carolina softball has made 22 trips to the postseason, a number that started in 1982. The Gamecocks have reached two super regionals and three WCWS. In conference play, Carolina owns two SEC Championships.
• Carolina rolls into the 2021 season with a 45-48 record all-time in those crucial postseason games and a 14-15 mark under Beverly Smith.
• Fans and opponents have become accustomed to seeing the Gamecocks play on Sundays in the postseason. Carolina has reached the regional final four-straight completed years. The Gamecocks are 2-3 in those past five Sunday games.
• A historic trend Carolina will look to change is its record against host schools in regionals. Since 1982, the Gamecocks are just 2-11 against host schools and 0-7 under Smith. On the flip side, South Carolina is 4-2 at home in the postseason under Smith having advanced to just the program’s second super regional in 2018 with two win-or-go-home games against Liberty.

 THE GAMECOCKS

• South Carolina comes into the 2021 season looking to build off a 17-6 shorted season highlighted with wins over Ohio State, Iowa State, No. 8 Michigan and No. 12 Georgia.
• The Gamecocks are set to welcome 10 freshmen to the program (Maddie Gallagher, Carlie Henderson, Kylee Gleason, Zoe Laneaux, Aaliyah White, Skylar Trahan, Leah Powell, Carly Robbins, Riley Blampied and Chooch Carroll.
• Carolina will have nine left-handed batters available in the lineup. It had five in 2020, seven in 2019, eight in 2017 and six in 2016. Of the nine left-handed batters, four (Carlie Henderson, Kylee Gleason, Haley Simpson and Aaliyah White) are listed as slap hitters.
• 13 Georgia natives help make up the Gamecock roster. It’s the most from any single state for the 2021 season. For comparison, Georgia has 14 on its 2021 roster while Georgia Tech has 17.

 THIS NEW CLASS… IT’S A 10/10! 

• South Carolina will have 10 newcomers on the 2021 roster. The group (Maddie Gallagher, Carlie Henderson, Kylee Gleason, Zoe Laneaux, Aaliyah White, Skylar Trahan, Leah Powell, Carly Robbins, Riley Blampied and Chooch Carroll) bring a mix of power and speed to the plate and plenty of versatility defensively.
• Two newcomers (Gallagher and Blampied) bring national team experience with them after playing on the gold winning U-17 squad this past summer.
• The freshmen class is comprised of five infielders, two outfielders, two pitchers and one catcher.
• Majors in the group include pre-business (Gallagher), retailing (Henderson, Laneaux, Trahan, Powell, Blampied and Carroll), exercise science (Gleason), cardiovascular technology (White) and biological science (Robbins).

 GUESS WHO’S BACK… BACK AGAIN. GO TELL A FRIEND. 

• They aren’t Slim Shady… but the four 2020 Carolina seniors are back to finish what they started in 2021. Cayla Drotar, Lauren Stewart, Kenzi Maguire and Mackenzie Boesel all announced over the summer they’d be returning.
• With their return, nine of the top-10 individual batting averages from the 2020 season will return for this upcoming year. The returning pitching staff of Bailey Betenbaugh, Drotar, Kelsey Oh and Rachel Vaughan bring back 12 of Carolina’s 17 wins in 2020 (71 percent) and its lone SEC winner in the circle last year (Ochs).
• As a team, Carolina brings back 85 percent of its 2020 runs scored, 86 percent of its hits, 83 percent of its doubles, 85 percent of its home runs and 87 percent of its RBI.
• Boesel returns looking to secure her spot as one of the all-time greats at Carolina. She comes into her final season as one of just five Gamecocks ever to be in the top-10 for 10 or more career offensive records and is on pace to break many of them. Off the field, she’s also a three-time Academic All-American.

 THAT’S… INTERESTING! 

• South Carolina will have at least one student-athlete on from the state of California for the 26th-consecutive year dating back to 1994 in 2021. With a signing class that includes two more (Marissa Gonzalez and Emma Sellers), the streak could continue on for three decades.
• Kenzi Maguire’s 2021 season will be her sixth season in Columbia, meaning she’s been here for more than half of the Beverly Smith era (11 years).
• Carlie Henderson won’t be the first in her family to achieve at a high level in sports. Her grandpa, Billy Shaw, played football at Georgia Tech and went on to play offensive line for nine years with the Buffalo Bills before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999. Her father, Chip, played baseball at Shorter University and has been the baseball head coach at Calhoun High School for 26 years. He’s won more than 600 games with three state titles (and had eight players drafted into MLB).
• Maddie Gallagher has actually played for one of her teammates. Maguire was her assistant coach this past year on Gallagher’s travel ball team. The team was coached by Maguire’s dad, Kevin, and was based out of Tampa, Fla., even though Gallagher lived in Port Washington, N.Y.

 GAMECOCKS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• South Carolina is 146-338-1 (.293) against opponents ranked in the NFCA top 25 since 1995.
• Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 70-115 (.358) at home, 34-151 (.154) on the road and 43-71-1 (.407) in neutral-site outings.
• During the notable 2018 season, the Gamecocks went 8-14 against ranked teams, including an 8-1 record in home games. The Gamecocks notably swept Tennessee and Mississippi State in home series against ranked teams last year. The Gamecocks also took two of three games against Arkansas, as well.
• Last season, the Gamecocks went 2-5 against ranked foes with wins over Michigan and Georgia.