Gamecocks Sweep Bryant Doubleheader
COLUMBIA, S.C. —- No. 16 South Carolina softball was dominate from start to finish in a doubleheader sweep of Bryant on Wednesday at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. The Gamecocks defeated the Bulldogs 7-0 in the first game before closing the day with a 10-2 victory in six innings thanks to a Mackenzie Boesel walk-off home run to enact the run-rule.
Carolina outscored the Bulldogs by 15 in a day that saw the program produce a .346 batting average with six home runs and a .419 on-base percentage. The six home runs ties the South Carolina high for homers in consecutive games this season.
Kennedy Clark led the way at the plate going 5-for-8 (.625) with four runs, two home runs and three RBI. Boesel produced a Carolina-best six RBI.
GAME 1 RECAP – South Carolina 7 Bryant 0
South Carolina (20-5, 0-3 SEC) produced their second shutout victory of the season in the opening game of the doubleheader in a 7-0 victory over Bryant. The Gamecocks combined a solid pitching performance from Karly Heath and four home runs to run away with the first game.
The teams traded a scoreless first before Heath blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to help her own cause and give the Gamecocks an early 2-0 lead.
Carolina decided the third inning would be the frame of home runs as Kenzi Maguire and Kennedy Clark sent a pair over the fence to extend the lead to 5-0. Heath produced another run in the third with a sacrifice fly out to push the lead to 6-0 through three.
Lauren Stewart smacked the fourth South Carolina home run of the day in the fourth to make it 7-0 Gamecocks before the teams traded scoreless frames the rest of the way out.
Heath (6-0, 0-0 SEC) was special at the plate and in the circle as she earned the win going 7.0 innings with just two hits and seven strikeouts. At the plate she went 1-for-2 with a run and three RBI.
Stewart, Clark and Alexis Lindsey finished the game with multiple hits as the Gamecocks put up nine as a team.
GAME 2 RECAP – South Carolina 10 Bryant 2 (six innings)
The Gamecocks returned to action 30 minutes after a commanding victory and produced a 10-2 win in six innings thanks to a three-run blast from Mackenzie Boesel to enact the run-rule victory.
South Carolina pounced on the Bulldogs early and took a 4-0 lead in the first thanks to Jana Johns, Boesel and Karly Heath RBIs.
Bryant scored its first run of the day in the second but Carolina returned the favor in the bottom of the third with two more runs thanks to Kennedy Clark’s second home run off the scoreboard in as many games and an Alyssa Kumiyama RBI double to make it 6-1 Gamecocks through three.
The scoring continued in the fifth as Boesel scored Clark on a single to center field before Bryant added a run in the top of the sixth to make it 7-2 Gamecocks heading to the bottom of the sixth.
From there, Boesel sent a two-out shot over the wall in right on the third pitch of her at-bat to give the Gamecocks the 10-2 win.
Kelsey Oh (2-2, 0-1) earned the victory going five innings with seven strikeouts.
Clark and Boesel shined at the plate as the pair went a combined 6-for-8 with five runs, seven RBI and two home runs.
NOTES
- Have a day hitters. Carolina had four batters (Alexis Lindsey, Kennedy Clark, Mackenzie Boesel and Jana Johns) hit .500 or better on the day as the team produced 18 throughout the two games.
- It seemed like everyone wanted to hit a home run on Wednesday as five different Gamecocks (Clark {twice}, Boesel, Lauren Stewart, Karly Heath and Kenzi Maguire) hit one against Bryant. The six home runs tied the season-high for home runs in consecutive games this season.
- Jana Johns enjoys hitting at home. She is hitting a team-best .439 at Beckham Field with 29 hits, 23 RBI and six home runs to go along with her .573 on-base percentage.
- How about Karly Heath’s day. She went seven innings in the circle with seven strikeouts while she finished with four RBI at the plate.
- South Carolina is now just two wins away from Beverly Smith earning her 300th victory as a head coach.
