March 22, 2011
CONWAY, S.C. – A dynamic offensive performance led South Carolina (17-12) to a 9-0 win in six innings over intrastate rival Coastal Carolina (14-13) on Tuesday evening at the CCU Softball Field.
South Carolina pounded out 12 hits, including three for extra bases. Gamecock freshman second baseman Dana Hathorn led the attack with three RBI and hit her first career triple in a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Junior centerfielder Lauren Lackey also went 2-for-3 and matched Hathorn with two runs scored. Junior leftfielder Kaitlin Westfall plated two runs, while freshman Chelsea Hawkins posted her first two-hit day. For the Chanticleers, Brooke Donovan and Chelsea Pineda both had two hits.
Westfall got the Gamecocks on the board in the first with a two-out RBI single, scoring Lackey after she reached on an infield hit and moved into scoring position with a stolen base. Three more runs crossed in the third, the first coming when Lackey scored on a CCU throwing error. Westfall drove home Hathorn with her ground ball to short, but Westfall reached on an errant throw. After senior Laura Mendes doubled to put runners at second and third, freshman Julie Sarratt gave Westfall the chance to score with her ground out.
Hathorn came up big in the fourth, sending junior Evan Childs and sophomore Samie Garcia home with her triple down the left field line. The Conway, S.C., native Childs had a one-out single in front of her hometown crowd, and Garcia followed with a walk.
South Carolina ended things in the sixth with three runs. Junior pinch hitters Jackie Slawson and Kandyce Redondo both collected their first hits of the season to start the frame, and Slawson scored on Hathorn’s RBI single. An error on the left fielder allowed Redondo to score on the play as well and let Hathorn reach second. The fourth Chanticleer error let Hathorn score from second on a booted ground ball.
Gamecock senior starting pitcher Ashley Chastain (3-1) tossed her second shutout of the season, scattering four hits and three walks in the six innings. She struck out one. CCU starter Michelle Evans (4-4) took the loss, giving up six runs, five earned, on seven hits and two walks while fanning two.
South Carolina moves back into SEC play this weekend, playing a three-game series at No. 11 Tennessee starting on Friday night at 6 p.m. EDT. SportSouth will televise Saturday’s contest, with first pitch scheduled for 12:30 p.m. EDT.
