April 27, 2002
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – It took South Carolina (36-15, 17-9) only three runs on three hits to defeat Shelly Laird (23-8, 15-3) and the 15th-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (42-14, 21-5) 3-1 in game one, but a fifth inning rally surged the Tide past the Gamecocks 6-5 in game two. Senior left fielder Adrianna Baggetta went 4-for-6 for the day, including her 10th career home run, ranking her seventh on USC’s all-time career home run list. Megan Matthews (20-6, 10-4) recorded her 20th win of the season, making her the only pitcher in USC history to record four consecutive 20 win seasons, while Stacey Johnson (10-7, 4-5) recorded the loss for USC in game two.
In the bottom of the first inning of game one, Alabama had a chance to take an early lead with two outs and two on but Baggetta made a great diving catch to prevent the Tide from scoring. USC then took charge in their next at-bat as Baggetta hit a one-out double and Melissa Sandel walked to give the Gamecocks runners in scoring position. Samantha Jennings then followed with a triple to score both runners and give Carolina a 2-0 lead.
The Tide led off the third inning with two singles by Jennifer Reach and Jackie Wilkins. Alabama eventually scored when SEC Player of the Week, Jackie McClain, hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Reach from third and cut Carolina’s lead in half, 2-1.
The Gamecocks struck again in the sixth inning as they got a cushion run from Baggetta who hit her fourth home run of the season, and the Garnet and Black a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Alabama rallied as Angela Johnson hit a single with two outs and the Tide’s Lacy Prejean tried to score from second but the rally was cut short and was thrown out at home by Baggetta to end the inning. In the seventh, Matthews retired three in row to end the game and earn USC’s 17th SEC win.
It appeared to be all Gamecocks in game two as South Carolina scored two runs in the first and three more in the third to take a 5-1 lead. In the first inning, USC loaded the bases before Baggetta hit a two-RBI single to give Carolina the 2-0 lead. Alabama’s Suzanne Olcott hit a home run in the bottom half of the inning to cut USC’s lead in half, 2-1. Carolina recorded four doubles in the game, including back-to-back-to-back doubles in the third which led USC to score three runs in the inning.
The game appeared to be going Carolina’s way until the fifth when Alabama exploded with four runs in the inning. The Tide led off the inning with two singles and scored their first run of the inning when Reach, who was at third, was able to come home on a throwing error by Johnson. With no outs and two runners on, USC brought in Aleca Johnson to try and prevent any damage. Johnson was uneffective as she walked two batters to load the bases and allowed Alabama to score two runs and cut the lead to 5-3. Still with no outs, Stacey Johnson then re-entered the game and recorded two outs before Alabama scored two more runs on another USC error and tied the game 5-5. Johnson was then able to force Alabama’s Angela Johnson to pop up for the third out of the inning.
The Gamecocks tried to claim a lead in the sixth as Kim Evans and Debralee Troesh both hit singles to get on base and Amber Curtis reached on a fielder’s choice. With two outs and Curtis at third and Troesh at second, the Gamecocks were cut short as Alabama’s Jennifer Wright forced Meghan Cornett to ground out for the third out and ended the inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, Reach hit a one-out single to center field to give Alabama their first base runner of the inning. After Johnson walked Jackie Wilkins, giving Alabama two runners on, Matthews was then brought into the game. Matthews walked the first batter she faced, Olcott, which loaded the bases, then for the second time in the series, Jackie McClain hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Reach for a run and give the Tide a 6-5 lead.
Alabama’s Wright returned in the seventh and retired all three USC batters to end the game and improved to 8-3. USC recorded five runs and 11 hits off of Alabama but three errors proved to be costly for the Gamecocks.
The two teams return to action Sunday afternoon at 2:30 (EDT) for the rubber game of the series. USC still leads the Tide 11-5 for the series. A win for the Gamecocks would give USC the Eastern Division title.
