Gamecocks Set To Host Key Weekend With Arkansas
April 5, 2018
No. 11 South Carolina vs. No. 20 Arkansas
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 11 South Carolina is set for a key SEC series as it plays host to No. 20 Arkansas for a three-game set starting Friday at 6:00 PM ET on SEC Network Plus. Saturday’s game is set for 2:00 PM ET on SEC Network Plus while the series finale on Sunday is scheduled for 1:00 PM ET on SEC Network Plus.
Where to park
Fans are encouraged to park in the Heyward Street parking garage for all home games this season. With Carolina also hosting Tennis and Track and Field this weekend, fans are encouraged to arrive early.
The upcoming weekend
The Gamecocks (No. 11/12) continue their four-game home stand against No. 20 Arkansas with a three-game set starting at 6:00 PM ET on SEC Network Plus on Friday.
Carolina comes into the weekend with an impressive 31-6 record, including a 6-3 mark in SEC play. Carolina earned win No. 31 on the year on Wednesday as freshman pitcher Kelsey Oh led the Gamecocks to a 5-2 victory with her 10th win of the year.
Carolina is set to be on TV for the 20th-22nd time this season with the Arkansas series.
South Carolina’s opponents for the week came in with a combined 49-19 record. The series against Arkansas will be the 13th-15th time Carolina will face a ranked opponent. This will be the third time this year the Gamecocks will be the higher ranked team in a ranked game.
Just keep moving… SEC road games aren’t easy
Carolina finished 2-2 last week with wins over Furman and at No. 12 Texas A&M. So far this year in conference game, the Gamecocks have taken at least one game in every road SEC series. Dating back to last season, they’ve done so in their last six.
How hard is it to win road games against SEC teams? Well, pretty tough. SEC teams are a combined 221-27 (89%) in home games this season. One team (South Carolina) remains perfect in home games (15-0), eight have two or less (Florida, Georgia, LSU, Auburn, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky) while the most home losses in the conference is six (Ole Miss).
With the win on Sunday, Carolina earned its first win in College Station since 1990 and its third ever since the teams started meeting in 1981.
Carolina finished 2017 with five road conference wins and one SEC series win. In total, the Gamecocks had six road wins. In 2018, the Gamecocks are already two road conferences wins from tying that mark and two total road wins from matching last season.
What a year… Some big points
Carolina has achieved some major highpoints just 37 games into the 2018 season. The first came early in the year, when the Gamecocks posted a 17-game winning streak, marking the longest streak of its kind since 1997.
With the 17-game victory streak, Carolina got off to its best 20-game start in program history with 19 wins. Nine of those wins came at home at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
Better look into Boesel
Just 37 games into 2018, Mackenzie Boesel has picked up right where she left off last season leading the Gamecock’s offense. She boasts a .373 batting average (second-best on the team) on a team-high 41 hits.
Where do her numbers through 37 games stack up to her career numbers? Her batting average (.375) is a career-best, she’s four runs away from tying her best, has a career-best 11 doubles, while her slugging percentage (.600) is also a career best.
Better look into Maguire
Thus far through 37 games, Kenzi Maguire has been the offensive force in the one-spot for Carolina. Maguire has really turned it on during conference play, batting .323 (second-best on the team) with a team-best 10 hits and eight runs scored. Also hit game-winning home run to beat Texas A&M on April 1 with a three-run deep shot with two outs in sixth.
Her .376 batting average is a career best, as is her 35 runs, 41 hits, eight doubles, two triples, 23 RBI, 59 total bases, .541 slugging percentage, 10 walks, .481 on-base percentage and her eight stolen bases.
Runs! Runs! Runs!
Carolina hasn’t been hurting in offense this season, as that side of the ball has outscored opponents 203-70 (+133) through 37 games. A deeper look into that, on average the Gamecocks are outscoring teams 5.97-1.88 thus far.
Where there are runs, there must be hits. Carolina batters have out-hit opponents 259-177 thus far, average about four more hits a game then their opposing batters.
