Carolina To Play Host To Black And Garnet Challenge

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- No. 16 South Carolina softball will spend the weekend at home as it plays host to the Black and Garnet Challenge at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. Carolina opens the weekend with a 2:30 PM first pitch on Saturday against Troy before closing the day 30 minutes after the conclusion of that game against Charlotte.
 
Weekend action finishes up on Sunday with 12:30 PM first pitch against the 49ers and 3:00 PM first pitch against the Trojans. All four games will be on SECN+ while live stat links will be provided on gamecocksonline.com for all six games of the tournament.
 
Fans are encouraged to park in the Heyward Street Parking Garage for all Carolina home games this season.
 
Carolina comes into the tournament with a 28-0 record in home tournament games over the past six years and a 176-46 record in non-conference games during the past seven years. South Carolina’s last home tournament loss came back in 2015.
 
The weekend will serve as a homecoming of sorts as Charlotte is led by first-year head coach and Carolina alumna Ashley Chastain.
 
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 2020 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 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 2020 season looking to build off a 38-19 season in which it reached the regional championship for the fourth-straight season.
• Carolina welcomes four newcomers (Ellie Bailey, Bailey Betenbaugh, Hannah Kumiyama, Karsen Ochs) as well as Baylor transfer Kassidy Krupit to a roster that will be looking to replace two starters (Kennedy Clark in the outfield and Dixie Raley in the circle).
• The Gamecocks return one of the most experienced middle infields in the country with Kenzi Maguire and Mackenzie Boesel. The two have combined for 352 games played and 348 starts heading into their senior campaign. Broken down, that means the pair has combined to play in 72 percent of all South Carolina games the past four years.
• Head coach Beverly Smith returns for her 10th season leading the Gamecocks. Sheís guided the Gamecocks to seven-straight NCAA trips and four-consecutive regional championships, both of which are school records.

 LAST WEEK 

• South Carolina posted a perfect 5-0 record last week, including wins over NC Central, Boston College, No. 8 Michigan, Iowa State and Elon. Freshman Karsen Ochs was the standout of the week, going 3-0 in the circle with a complete-game shutout of the Wolverines. For her efforts, she was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
• As a team, Carolina outscored teams 34-6 over the week with a .341 batting average with a .430 on-base percentage. The staff of Bailey Betenbaugh, Kelsey Oh, Karsen Ochs and Karly Heath posted a 1.24 ERA in 34 innings of action while holding teams to a .114 batting average. Betenbaugh held batters to a 0.45 batting average while righties were held to a 1-for-24 performance against Ochs.
• Haley Simpson led the way at the plate with a .667 batting average on six hits with two doubles. Lauren Stewart hit .438 on seven hits with six runs and four RBI. Kassidy Krupit had a team-best seven RBI while Katie Prebble had six.
• The Gamecocks were feeling pretty extra at the plate. As a team they finished with 19 extra-base hits while holding opponents to just six. Ochs held opposing batters to just one (a double) in her 11 innings of work.

 MUST WIN AT HOME! AND THE GAMECOCKS DO

• South Carolina is 177-80 (.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 three times in her ten years.
• Carolina has finished .500 or better at home seven of Beverly Smith’s ten years.
• South Carolina has not lost double digit games at home in six years and has won 20 or more the past six seasons.

 NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS IS NOTHING NEW FOR SC

• South Carolina is 176-46 (.780) over the past seven years in games outside the SEC. Notable wins include Texas, Penn State, Houston, Arizona State, North Carolina, Florida State, California, Virginia Tech, USF, Long Beach State, Hofstra and Liberty. 
• The 176 wins are notable because they account for 64 percent of the Carolina wins during that time (yeah, it’s really tough to win SEC games and of course there are more opportunities to win non-conference games. But still).
• This year Carolina is set for at least 15 more non-conference games.
• Carolina had won 26-straight non-conference games (regular season) before the loss to Texas Tech in the second weekend of the year.

 CAROLINA HOSTS TOURNAMENTS A LOT… AND WINS 

• Carolina is an amazing 28-0 over the past six seasons in the Gamecock Invitational and is set to host two more tournaments this season.
• The Gamecock pitching staff has shined in the tournaments. In the 28 games during that span, Carolina pitching staffs have allowed three or more runs eight times. On the flip side, nine games have ended as shutouts for South Carolina.
• Including the Carolina Classic, the Gamecocks are 48-1 in their past 49 home tournament games. Carolina’s lone home tournament loss during that stretch came in a 4-1 loss to South Alabama way back in 2015.
• South Carolina went 4-0 in the Gamecock Invitational last season, outscoring teams 40-13.  

 
For more information on the tournament and the Gamecocks, continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com.