May 8, 2002

Columbia, S.C. – The South Carolina softball team travels to Chattanooga, Tenn. for the 2002 SEC Tournament, May 9-12. By winning the Eastern Division title, the second-seeded Gamecocks (41-16, 20-10) will play the seventh seed Mississippi State Bulldogs (34-17, 13-16) on Thursday at 2 p.m. USC won the regular season series in Starkville, against the Bulldogs 2-1 in March.

This marks the second consecutive division title for Carolina, fourth overall. USC is 12-6 in the tournament and has advanced to the championship game three out of five years. Last year, the Gamecocks went 3-1 as they defeated Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas to advance to the championship game. USC played conference champion LSU in the final game and lost 1-0.

USC is led by senior pitcher Megan Matthews who is 8-3 in the tournament, and has a 52-28 record against SEC member schools. Matthews is also just two victories away from the 100-career win mark and would become only the second USC pitcher to reach this milestone. Another milestone for the Gamecocks is most home runs in a single season. Carolina enters the tournament with 28 home runs, which ties the single season record set in 1994. USC needs one more home run to establish the new record.

The SEC tournament will run through Sunday, May 12 and the championship game will be televised live on FOX Sports South at 2 p.m. (EDT).