March 10, 2013
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Getting the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Kristen Struett, South Carolina (15-5) won a 4-3 contest from Penn State (6-12) in eight innings on Sunday afternoon at the Eddie C. Moore Complex Field 1 to close out the USF Under Armour Showcase.
With runners at second and third, Struett lifted a fly ball to left center, deep enough to let freshman left fielder Alaynie Page score from third to give the Gamecocks the 4-3 lead. Page started the inning on second thanks to the international tiebreak rule and moved to third on junior second baseman Dana Hathorn’s bunt hit that stopped on the chalk of the first-base line.
South Carolina took the 3-0 lead in the first, with Struett driving in the first run with a single up the middle, plating senior shortstop Samie Garcia after she started the contest with a double. Struett and junior Ashlyn Masters scored on junior right fielder Chelsea Hawkins’ RBI single thru the left side.
Penn State cut the lead to one in the third. With the bases loaded, Karlie Habitz hit a liner to right that the Gamecocks caught, but it allowed Alyssa Renwick to score from third. Taylor Abeyta followed with an RBI single, plating Macy Jones from second. The Nittany Lions tied it at 3-3 in the fifth on Cassidy Bell’s solo homer, her 10th of the year.
Struett led the Gamecocks with her 2-for-3 day with a run scored and two RBI. Hathorn also went 2-foe-3 with a stolen base. Hawkins drove in two, while Garcia had a double and ranked as one of five Gamecocks to record a single hit. Lexi Knief and Renwick both had two hits for Penn State.
Gamecock freshman pitcher Katie Marks (5-2) got the win in relief, giving up two hits and an intentional walk while fanning four in three innings of relief. Jones (5-5) took the loss for Penn State, tossing seven innings out of the bullpen, giving up one unearned run on six hits and a walk. She struck out two. Gamecock redshirt senior Audrey Broyles started for the Gamecocks, giving up three earned runs on five hits and two walks in five innings. She fanned three.
South Carolina has one final tune-up before starting Southeastern Conference play next weekend, facing Furman in a doubleheader on Wednesday in Greenville, S.C. First pitch for the twinbill is set for 2 p.m. EDT.
