Oct. 30, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina finished up its fall exhibition games with a perfect record after taking a 3-2 win at Wren High School over Anderson on Saturday afternoon. The Gamecocks, 8-0 in the fall, made strides all fall and get to focus on individual skill training until January when full team practice begins in earnest for the 2014 season.
Runs each of the final three innings gave the Gamecocks the victory. A two-out double steal put the run on the board in the fifth. Sophomore Alaynie Page posted an infield single with one out, moved to second on a grounder and went to third on senior Dana Hathorn’s infield single, setting up the steals. Another two-out rally scored the Gamecocks’ run in the sixth, as freshman Kaylea Snaer followed senior Ashlyn Masters’ single with a double over the centerfielder’s head, scoring Masters from first. In the seventh, freshman Victoria Williams, from nearby Williamston, drove in the game-winning run, plating freshman pinch runner Mackenzie Moler after she replaced junior Sarah Mooney, who started the frame with a single to left.
The final exhibition came at the home field of South Carolina senior Chelsea Hawkins, and the crowd definitely gave her resounding cheers every time she stepped to the plate. Fans, appreciative of seeing the Gamecocks two hours away from Columbia, gave appreciation for other local players like senior Brooke Barnhill, redshirt junior Julie Sarratt and the freshman Williams. The postgame autograph session produced a gaggle of youth around Hawkins and other Gamecocks, who signed and took photos with many in attendance.
For South Carolina, the fall showed the coaches some of what they have in the nine newcomers to the roster as well as the improvements some of the returning student-athletes made over the summer. Sarratt continued her strong work in the circle, ending the fall with 22 strikeouts against five walks in 22 innings of work, including adding eight K’s in her final outing at Wren. Masters led the Gamecock offense with a 1.600 on-base plus slugging percentage, driving in seven runs. The Gamecock freshmen also played well, led by Snaer and Williams’ seven RBI.
On Monday afternoon, the team hosted a Select Your Seat fan day, helping to sell over 400 season tickets more than three months before the start of its spring season. Fans who attended also got to hit live on Beckham Field while also hearing from each of the Gamecock student-athletes during the promotion. After Monday’s event, the team was just 75 season tickets shy of last year’s total sales, while approaching half of the possible season tickets the team could sell total.
With the major fall practice period done, the Gamecocks will go back to more individual workouts for the remainder of the semester, with more time coming in the weight room to continue building on the team’s strength and conditioning base.
The 2014 schedule will be released in the coming days, and new season-ticket purchases will be open again then.
