No. 22 Gamecocks Open SEC Play With Top-25 Matchup

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 22 South Carolina softball team opened SEC play this weekend, when the Gamecocks travel to Texas A&M beginning March 8. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Series Information
Series History: Texas A&M leads 27-19
Last Meeting: South Carolina 1, Texas A&M 0 (8) | May 10, 2023 | Fayetteville, Ark.

#22 South Carolina Gamecocks 18-2, 0-0 SEC
Coach: Beverly Smith | 14th Season
AVG Leader: .403 | Riley Blampied
RBI Leader: 19 | Aniyah Black
Home Run Leader: 4 | Reganne Bennett
ERA Leader: 0.75 | Reganne Bennett
Strikeout Leader: 45 | Sage Mardjetko
Wins Leader: 5 | Alana Vawter and Sage Mardjetko

#17 Texas A&M Aggies 19-2, 0-0 SEC
Coach: Trisha Ford | 2nd Season
AVG Leader: .479 | Allie Enright
RBI Leader: 23 | Julia Cottrill
Home Run Leader: 4 | Julia Cottrill and Trinity Cannon
ERA Leader: 0.87 | Emiley Kennedy
Strikeout Leader: 84 | Emiley Kennedy
Wins Leader: 10 | Emiley Kennedy

LEADING OFF

• The 2024 season will be the 51st season for the Carolina Softball team.
• Carolina received votes in every poll yet again this week. They are ranked No. 22 by NFCA/USA Today and ESPN/USA Softball, No. 20 by D1softball and Softball America.
• The Gamecocks are 3-11 all-time on the road against the Aggies with their last win coming on April 1, 2018, in a 5-3 victory.
• Carolina swept the series last season in Columbia, including a run-rule victory in the finale. They also earned a victory in the SEC Tournament in extra innings after the game has been suspended due to weather.
• In their last meeting in Texas, the Aggies swept the series in 2021.
• The series dates to 1981, when the two teams met in the AIAW World Series in Norman, Oklahoma with Aggies earning a 4-0 win. The two teams met again in the 1983 World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, this time with the Gamecocks winning 2-0.
• The Gamecocks swept the Knights Classic, defeating Kennesaw State, UCF, Bethune-Cookman, and Princeton.
• Sophomore pitcher Jori Heard threw a perfect game in the 4-0 win over Bethune-Cookman on Saturday.
  • Heard’s perfect game is the 11th in program history, as she becomes the seventh Gamecock pitcher to earn perfection.
  • It was the first perfect game for South Carolina since Melissa Hendon against Pittsburgh on March 4, 2007.
  • Six of Carolina’s 10 previous perfect games came between 1995 and 1997 and were thrown by either Trinity Johnson (5) or Darlene Gareis (2).
• Freshman Sage Mardjetko finished the week 2-0 with a save.
  • She capped off the week by throwing a complete game two-hitter in Carolina’s 4-1 win over Princeton on Sunday.

VAWTER ON THE NATIONAL STAGE

Alana Vawter joined the Gamecocks after an outstanding four-year career at Stanford. Her awards list in long, but she also ranks among the nation’s active career leaders in a myriad of pitching categories:

• She ranks first in not only Division I but among all NCAA players in:
  • Game started: 110
  • Innings pitched: 720 1/3
• Ranks second in DI and fourth overall in wins (82)
• Ranks fourth in DI and seventh overall in shutouts (27)
• Ranks third in DI and fifth overall in complete games (74)
• Ranks fifth in DI and NCAA in appearances with 138
• Ranks 11th in DI and 46th overall in ERA with a 1.76
• Ranks 15th in DI and 30th overall in strikeouts at 560
• Ranks 47th in DI in strikeouts per 7 innings at 5.44
• ..THAT HURT!
• Jen Cummings ranks 3rd in DI with 44 career high by pitches.
• She also ranks 4th among all divisions.

GAMECOCKS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• South Carolina is 163-380-1 (.301) against opponents ranked in the NFCA top 25 since 1995.
• Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 79-130 (.378) at home, 39-176 (.181) on the road and 46-73-1 (.388) in neutral-site outings.
• In 2023, the Gamecocks went 12-16 against ranked opponents. Earning victories over #3 Florida State, #4 Tennessee, #13 Georgia, #11 Florida (twice), #14 LSU, #16 Alabama, #16 Auburn (twice), and #23 Texas A&M (three).

For the latest on South Carolina Softball, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team’s social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockSoftbll, Facebook /GamecockSoftball, and Instagram @GamecockSoftball.