Carolina Keeps Run-Rule Streak Going With Pair On Sunday
Charlotte, N.C. —- No. 14 South Carolina softball extended its run-rule victory streak to six-consecutive games with a pair of wins in Charlotte over Charlotte and Winthrop on Sunday night. The Gamecocks defeated the 49ers 9-1 in five innings before closing the weekend with a 15-1 win in five frames over Winthrop.
Between the two games, Carolina scored at least one run in eight of the 10 innings and produced 25 hits on the day. With the wins, Carolina has now outscored its opponents 68-12 during the impressive stretch of run-rule wins.
In the win over Winthrop, Mackenzie Boesel notably became the 17th player in program history to produce 100 or more RBI in a career. Freshman Rachel Vaughan also earned her first career victory in the win over the Eagles.
GAME 1: South Carolina 9 Charlotte 1
South Carolina didn’t back down in its first road game of the year, leading from start to finish in a commanding win over Charlotte in front of a capacity crowd.
The scoring effort started with a pair of sacrifice flies from Cayla Drotar and Kennedy Clark before Lauren Stewart’s RBI double gave the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead after one.
Madison Owens kept the runs coming in the second as she blasted her second-career home run to make it 4-0 Carolina through two.
A three-run third capped with Stewart’s two-run homer extended the lead again, this time to 7-0 after three.
Two more runs in the fourth thanks to Mackenzie Boesel and Jana Johns doubles made it 9-0 in favor of the Gamecocks heading into the bottom of the fourth. Charlotte showed fight with a run in the bottom frame but it proved to be too little too late as the Gamecocks powered forward with the win.
Drotar (4-1) earned the victory in the circle going four innings with three strikeouts.
Stewart led the way at the plate going 2-for-2 with a run scored and three RBI. Johns and Clark also finished with two hits on the night, as well.
GAME 2: South Carolina 15 Winthrop 1
Carolina trotted out freshman Rachel Vaughan to the circle for her first career start and the offense backed her up with 15 runs in a dominate 15-1 win over Winthrop. Carolina scored at least two runs in four of the five frames as the result was never in doubt to close out the weekend with the squad’s seventh run-rule victory in its last eight games.
Three runs in the first, capped with a Mackenzie Boesel homer gave the Gamecocks all the needed momentum to secure the win as Carolina led 3-0 through one.
The Gamecocks added two more in the second with Jana Johns bringing home two with a single to the outfield to extend the lead to 5-0.
Runs continued coming in the third as South Carolina scored seven thanks to Boesel’s double to left and back-to-back homers from Johns and Cayla Drotar to make it 12-0. The Boesel RBI double was the hit that made her the 17thmember of the 100 or more RBI club at South Carolina.
Winthrop added a run in the bottom of the third before the teams traded a scoreless third to make it 12-1 heading to the fifth. The Gamecocks scored three more in the fifth to give the squad the eventual 15-1 victory.
Vaughan (1-0) earned the victory in the circle going all five innings with just three hits allowed and three strikeouts.
Kenzi Maguire and Boesel both finished with three hits and three runs while Boesel had four RBI to lead the Gamecocks. In total, nine different Carolina hitters finished with a hit in the game.
NOTES:
- South Carolina has now run-ruled six-consecutive opponents and seven of its last eight with the wins tonight.
- Speaking of streaks, with today’s games Cayla Drotar has now reached base in 24-straight games dating back to last season. Jana Johns extended her streak to 21-consecutive games, as well.
- With today’s win in the circle, Rachel Vaughan became the fifth different Gamecock pitcher (Cayla Drotar, Kelsey Oh, Karly Heath and Dixie Raley) to earn a victory this season.
- The Gamecocks improved to 289-198 with the victories on Sunday under head coach Beverly Smith.
