April 11, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. –
Gamecocks vs. Georgia – April 12-14
Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field
Fri., April 12, 7 PM | Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll
Sat., April 13, 4 PM | Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll
Sun., April 14, 1 PM | Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll
Promotions
Sat. – Cocky throws out first pitch
Sun. – Head men’s basketball coach Frank Martin throws out first pitch; Active Gamecocks Day
South Carolina Team Notes
- Winning five-consecutive games (2/24-3/3) by the run rule is the best as far as those records go (since 1995). The previous best stretch of run-rule wins came in 1995.
- Wednesday night’s game-one win over Coastal Carolina stands as the 10th run-rule win for the Gamecocks this year and the first since March 8 (vs. UMass).
- This is the first time since 1997 that South Carolina has recorded double-digit run-rule shortened wins.
- South Carolina’s leadoff batter has reached 47.1 percent of the time so far in 2013, third in the SEC.
- The Gamecocks won their first 13 games by scoring seven or more runs.
- In the win over Radford (2/24), redshirt senior Audrey Broyles tossed her first shutout since Feb. 26, 2011, against Elon. This was a three-hitter to defeat the defending Big South regular-season champs.
- Also recording their first shutouts as Gamecocks this year were sophomore Katelynn Howser (vs. Buffalo) and freshman Katie Marks (vs. Florida International).
- Gamecock pinch hitters are 9-for-31 (.290) at the plate and reach base at a .421 clip, drawing six walks and taking one hit by pitch.
Samie Garcia: Setting New Standards
- Senior shortstop Samie Garcia became the first Gamecock under Beverly Smith to be selected in the NPF Draft, going with the 14th overall selection (second of the fourth round) to the NY/NJ Comets in the April 1 event.
- Garcia leads the Gamecocks in 10 offensive categories entering the week, and she stands in the top 15 in numerous career listings.
- She’s third in batting average (.366), second in on-base percentage (.435) and fourth in slugging percentage (.544).
- With seven triples on the year, Garcia is tied for fifth with 12 in her career. Garcia is also fifth in hit-by-pitches (14), 12th in runs (114), 12th in total bases (265), tied for 12th in homers (12) and 19th in doubles (27).
- Currently, Garcia ranks as the 17th toughest Gamecock in recorded history to strike out, going 13.91 at bats per strikeout.
- In the per-game categories, she’s second in hits (1.19), third in runs (0.77), fifth in triples (0.08), eighth in doubles (0.18), eighth in home runs (0.08), 10th in walks (0.32) and 16th in RBI per game (0.44).
- She stole four bases in the Stetson Lead-Off Classic to move into the top 10 in that category. Now with 16 on the year, she’s sixth in career stolen bases (42) and third in stolen bases per game (0.28).
Schedule Has Not Been Kind to Gamecocks
- South Carolina opens the 2013 season with 22 road games (five weekends + one midweek DH) and 29 of 32 due to ongoing construction at the new Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
- The 1997 team spent 23 of its first 26 games away from home in the most similar stretch in the Gamecocks’ SEC-era history.
- The 1988 squad played its first 31 games away from Columbia (six weeks on the road), while the 1987 team spent its first 20 games traveling (10 days).
- The Gamecocks have 31 of their 53 scheduled games against teams who made the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
- Out of 38 games, South Carolina has played 22 against top-100 RPI opponents, going 7-15 in those contests.
- Of the 15 games left, 12 pit the Gamecocks against top-100 RPI foes, including this weekend’s foe Georgia (40). Those 12 are all in SEC play (Auburn 67, Mississippi State 29, Florida 2).
- The first 12 SEC games came against top-15 RPI teams in this week’s report.
- All 24 SEC games are against NCAA tourney participants.
- One more SEC game for the Gamecocks will be televised, the April 20 contest at Auburn by national outlet ESPNU.
- The Gamecocks lost their first three TV contests, all to top-15 foes.
Some Single-Game Marks Rewritten in 2013
- South Carolina beat Alabama State 29-0 (5) on March 2, setting a new NCAA-era record for runs in a game and tying the program record for margin of victory.
- The Gamecocks tied their high of 25 RBI in that Alabama State contest.
- Sophomore Olivia Lawrence broke the runs-scored record against the Hornets, crossing home five times.
- Chelsea Hawkins tied the single-game homer record with two blasts against Kennesaw State, also on March 2.
Single-Season Record Already Fallen; Others to Watch
- Junior second baseman Dana Hathorn has already broken the single-season hit-by-pitch mark, getting plunked 14 times this year through 38 games.
- Senior shortstop Samie Garcia has seven triples on the year, tying for 11th in Gamecock history. One more sees her join Tina Plew in 10th with eight in a single season.
- Junior right fielder Chelsea Hawkins made it a 13-way tie for 15th place with six homers already this season. Her next ties her for 10th with five other players.
- Redshirt senior Kelley Dillon has been hit seven times this year, tying for third on the single-season listing behind her teammate Hathorn and Kristin Hall (8, 2005).
- Junior Ashlyn Masters has three sacrifice flies, good to tie for 12th on the single-season list. Another would tie her for seventh with six others.
- Garcia’s 16 stolen bases is tied for 12th in a single season with former teammate Hannah Milks. One more knots her with Toinette Reed and Tricia Popowski for 10th.
In Wins and Losses, Who Stands Out?
- As a team, the Gamecocks slug .582 in wins and .339 in losses and reach base at a .468 clip in wins and just .318 in losses.
- If Kristen Struett gets on base, South Carolina is successful. She holds a .500 on-base percentage in wins and a .193 mark in losses. The same could be said for Alaynie Page (.512 to .266) and Chelsea Hawkins (.427 to .281).
- Audrey Broyles is 3.59 earned runs better (2.35 to 5.94) in wins than losses, while Katie Marks is 3.70 earned runs better in the same formula (1.91 to 5.61).
- Julie Sarratt has a 17/6 K/BB ratio in 24 innings in wins, and a 12/17 mark in 28 innings in losses.
Diving Deeper into Gamecock Pitchers
- The Gamecocks have their most trouble in the fourth inning, with opponents scoring 38 runs and the staff tallying a 6.08 ERA in the middle frame.
- The sixth isn’t much better, with a 5.13 ERA and 28 runs scored in 28.2 innings.
- Audrey Broyles has her highest strikeout rate (5.1 per 7 IP) with runners in scoring position.
- With two strikes, opponents are 22-of-121 (.182) against Broyles.
- Freshman Katie Marks has a strikeout rate of 7.8 with runners on and two outs and 7.5 with runners in scoring position and two outs.
- Marks likes a clean slate, with foes batting .217 against her in leadoff situations and .213 when the bases are empty.
- When Marks gets batters to two strikes, they are 20-of-131 (.153) at the plate.
- Marks polishes off hitters at 1-2 best, with 18 of her K’s coming in that count.
- Redshirt sophomore Julie Sarratt also does well with runners on and two outs, with the opposition hitting .171 in those situations. They also hit .167 in bases-loaded spots against Sarratt.
Scouting Georgia
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The Last Meeting
South Carolina 3 Georgia 4 April 11, 2012
Athens, Ga.Gamecocks Tie No. 11/11 Georgia in Seventh but Fall, 4-3
A strong showing by South Carolina (23-19, 3-12 SEC) could not overcome No. 11/11 Georgia (32-8, 10-5 SEC), as Paige Wilson ended the contest with an RBI double to hand the Bulldogs the 4-3 win in game one at Jack Turner Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. - The Bulldogs are 29-13 on the year coming into the weekend series and 6-6 in SEC play.
- Georgia’s been swept in its last two SEC series at Arkansas and at home against a top-10 Tennessee team.
- In between, Georgia run-ruled Western Carolina twice, 12-0 and 9-0 in five, and destroyed archrival Georgia Tech 20-1.
- The best hitting power team in NCAA Division I, the Bulldogs have 72 homers in 42 games.
- Three Bulldogs have 13 homers, all from freshmen Kaylee Puailoa, Geri Ann Glasco and Tina Iosefa.
- Puailoa leads the Bulldogs with an .832 slugging percentage, while Glasco has 10 doubles and an .800 slugging percentage.
- Sophomore Anna Swafford holds a team-high .500 on-base percentage and 19 stolen bases, while Glasco holds a .493 OBP.
- Senior Tess Sito has a .345/.417/.638 line and has stolen 11 bases without being caught.
The Last Meeting
South Carolina 3 Georgia 8 April 11, 2012
Athens, Ga.Gamecocks Drop to No. 11/11 Georgia 8-3 in Game Two
Despite a two-double, two-RBI performance from Gamecock sophomore rightfielder Chelsea Hawkins, South Carolina (23-20, 3-13 SEC) dropped game two of Wednesday’s doubleheader at No. 11/11 Georgia (33-8, 11-6 SEC) 8-3 at Jack Turner Stadium. - Sophomore Paige Wilson leads Georgia with a .419 batting average, and she’s added seven stolen bases without being caught.
- Niaja Griffin (15-17 SB) and Samantha LaZear (9-10 SB) also contribute to Georgia’s speed game.
- In the circle, Glasco has tossed the majority of innings for the Bulldogs, compiling 113 strikeouts and 52 walks in 117.1 innings.
- Glasco is 17-4 with a 2.62 ERA, but in SEC play, she’s 4-3 with a 4.77 ERA, walking and fanning 20 in 36.2 innings.
- Junior Morgan Montemayor has a staff-best 2.47 ERA, striking out 79 and walking 33 in 85 innings. In SEC play, she has a 16/8 K/BB ratio, best on the staff, in 18.1 innings.
- Freshman Chelsea Wilkinson has a 4.06 ERA in 51.2 innings, striking out 53 but walking 33.
- SEC foes have hit .284 against the Bulldogs’ staff.
Ties Between Georgia & South Carolina
- Freshman Lauren Masters played travel ball with the Southern Force under now-Georgia assistant coach Tara Archibald, who is the sister of a fellow former Force team member, Geri Ann Glasco.
- Junior Ashlyn Masters played with the Atlanta Vipers travel ball team, a year behind UGA’s Christine Olney, who also played in that organization.
- Gamecock volunteer assistant Laura Trout graduated from Georgia and played two years for head coach Lu Champer-Harris and the Bulldogs.
Where They Go Next on Career Charts
- Four more runs move Samie Garcia into a tie with Michelle Delloso into 11th on the career charts with 118.
- Five hits ties Garcia with Karen Sanchelli for 20th on the all-time list with 183.
- Two more double ties Garcia for 18th with Danielle Quinones. Her next triple would give Garcia fifth alone with 13, one shy of Ashton Payne in fourth (14).
- A homer by Garcia would put her in 12th alone all-time with 13. Chelsea Hawkins’ next homer would tie her with Samantha Jennings and Tina Plew for eighth all-time with 15.
- Garcia needs three total bases ties Sanchelli for 11th (268).
- Dana Hathorn needs eight RBI to tie for 17th all-time with four other players.
- One walk brings Garcia even with Jodi Fittro and Cheri Laskowski for 20th on the all-time listings with 48.
- Three hit-by-pitches to Garcia would tie her for third with Kaitlin Westfall and Jacqueline Wetherbee with 17.
- If Kelley Dillon gets hit by another pitch, she’d tie Lauren Lackey and Lindsay Walker for 18th.
- One stolen base for Garcia would tie her with Tricia Popowski, who ranks fifth in Gamecock annals with 43 stolen bases.
- Audrey Broyles’ next win gives her 11th alone, breaking a tie with Kate Pouliot and Kim Sheridan.
- When Broyles gets through nine more innings, she’ll surpass Sky Brown for eighth in SC history.
- With 17 strikeouts, Broyles would tie Angie Lear for ninth in South Carolina history.