Gamecocks Set To Host Duke
Feb. 27, 2018
South Carolina vs. Duke
- Game Notes
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Softball takes its season-high 12-game winning streak into its game with Duke on Wednesday at 6:00 PM ET at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. Fans can catch the game on SEC Network Plus or live stats and updates can be found on gamecocksonline.com and Twitter.
Parking Information
Fans are encouraged to park in the Heyward Street Parking Garage for all home games this season.
The Gamecocks
Carolina comes into the 2018 season looking to build upon a 34- 25 season in which the Gamecocks reached the regional final for the third time under the direction of head coach Beverly Smith.
The Gamecocks welcome seven freshmen and transfer Dixie Raley to the program this season to bring the Gamecocks to 20 active members.
Head coach Beverly Smith has been California Dreaming with her roster, as South Carolina has six Californians on the team, more than any other state combined. The next closest is a tie with three between Georgia and South Carolina.
Carolina won’t be lacking arms this season with five available coming into the new season, leaving 15 fielders.
The upcoming week
The Gamecocks return home for a five-game home stand starting Wednesday at 6:00 PM ET against Duke on SEC Network Plus. Carolina’s home slate continues this weekend as the Gamecocks host the Carolina Classic.
Carolina takes a season-high 12-game winning streak into the week as the Gamecocks posted a perfect 6-0 record last week with a home victory over North Carolina before picking up five wins in Orlando over the weekend.
Carolina is set to be on TV for the second time this season against Duke. The Gamecocks are 1-0 on the year in TV games.
South Carolina’s opponents for the week come in with a combined 32-20 record.
Going back… The third week of success>
The Gamecocks posted a perfect 6-0 record last week to move to 15-1 on the season and keep its season-long 12-game winning streak going. The last time Carolina had a streak this long? The team’s youngest player (Anna Vest) wasn’t born and it’s oldest (Jordyn Augustus) was three-years old.
On the week, Carolina outscored its opponents 46-3 and finished with 28 more hits. The Gamecocks produced with 45 RBI while opponents had a low three. As a team Carolina finished with a .535 slugging percentage and .487 on-base percentage.
Runs! Runs! Runs! Plenty of offense for Gamecocks
Carolina hasn’t been hurting in offense this season, as that side of the ball has outscored opponents 95-19 through 16 games. A deeper look into that, on average the Gamecocks are outscoring teams 5.94-1.19 thus far.
How about That Pitching
While Carolina’s offense has been outstanding, you can’t forget about the pitching staff and defense. The staff’s trio of Dixie Raley, Cayla Drotar and Kelsey Oh have combined for a 1.14 ERA with a 79-39 strikeout ratio and have held opponents to a low .172 batting average.
Duke… A deeper look
In it’s first year of softball, Duke is off to a 9-5 start to start the program’s history. The Blue Devils have posted four wins at home, a 1-1 record away from home and 4-4 neutral record.
Duke has posted notable wins over Michigan State (3-0), Penn State (7-5) and Harvard (5-0).
Duke was in the same tournament as Carolina this last weekend (D9 Citrus Classic) but played different teams. The Blue Devils played Morgan State (W, 5-0), Kentucky (L, 5-1), Savannah State (W, 5-1), Harvard (W, 5-0) and Minnesota (L, 5-1 in eight innings).
Duke has posted a .264 batting average while outscoring opponents 58-37 in 14 games. Duke’s pitching staff has produced with a 1.57 ERA.
