Gamecocks Ready For Senior Weekend

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- In the hunt for a postseason berth, South Carolina softball is set to honor six seniors this weekend as it plays host to Mississippi State at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. First pitch on Friday night is set for 6:00 p.m. ET before the teams reconvene Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The series finale is set for Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
 
The opener and finale are scheduled to stream on SEC Network+ while Saturday’s game will broadcast nationally on SEC Network.
 
Carolina will honor three seniors each of the final two days of the weekend. 2021 seniors Alex Fulmer, Alyssa Kumiyama and Anna Vest will be recognized prior to Saturday’s game while 2021 graduate seniors Kenzi Maguire, Mackenzie Boesel and Cayla Drotar will be honored Sunday.
 
GAMECOCKS IN THE SEC… AND OTHER FUN NOTES

• South Carolina comes into the SEC week with a 263-366 (.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.
• Carolina is 5-5 over its past 10 games with a key win over No. 3 Florida this past weekend in Gainesville. With the latest D1 Softball projections showing SC as a No. 3-seed in the Tempe Regional, every game down the stretch will be big.
• Over the past 10 games South Carolina has five players (Kenzi Maguire, Aaliyah White, Riley Blampied, Mackenzie Boesel and Kassidy Krupit) hitting over .300. Maguire has led the way with a .419 batting average on 13 hits with nine runs and four doubles. Fabian has posted a team-best six RBI with three home runs.
• Speaking of Fabian, she’s hit the last three South Carolina home runs.
• Boesel has been great during the stretch, posting a .313 batting average on 10 hits with two doubles, four runs and five RBI.
• White has shown her speed with three stolen bases over the past 10 games.
• In the circle, it’s been all about Leah Powell. She’s earned three victories in 20 innings of work with 11 strikeouts. Cayla Drotar has earned the other two wins during that time.
• With two weekends of regular season action left, Maguire has positioned herself at the top in terms of SEC hitters this year. She’s third in batting average (.431), third in runs (49), seventh in doubles (11), seventh in hits (53), sixth in triples (3), second in on-base percentage (.560) and first in hit by pitches (23).
• Boesel has a claim at the top, as well. She’s fifth in batting average (.409), fifth in runs (43), third in doubles (14), ninth in hits (52), fifth in on-base percentage (.528) and seventh in walks (30).
• South Carolina is the only SEC school with: two hitters in the top five for batting average, two players in the top five for runs scored, two hitters in the top five for on-base percentage.
• Maguire has shined in SEC games, too. By conference only stats she’s 10th in batting average (.375), 10th in runs scored (13), fourth in on-base percentage (.524) and first in hit by pitches (9). As for Boesel, she’s third in doubles (6) and 11th in walks (10).
• The duo is leading the charge at the plate in home games this year. They’ve combined for 67 hits (31 percent of South Carolina’s total hits at home) with both hitting above .400 in the 28 games. They’ve posted a combined, 66 runs scored (39 percent of the runs) and 46 RBI (31 percent of the RBI). Maguire has posted a .620 on-base percentage at home while Boesel has a .524 on-base percentage.

 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.

 MUST WIN AT HOME! AND THE GAMECOCKS DO

• South Carolina is 198-92 (.665) at home during the Beverly Smith era, which does not include a 4-1 record at home while hosting a regional at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
• The Gamecocks have lost more than 10 games at home in a single season just four times in her 11 years.
• Carolina has finished .500 or better at home seven of Beverly Smith’s ten years.
• Prior to this year, South Carolina had not lost double digit games at home in seven years and has won 20 or more six of the past seven seasons (2020 included).