May 10, 2002
Chattanooga, Tenn. – For the second night in a row South Carolina (43-16) recorded a 10-plus hit game as they defeated 18th-ranked Alabama (45-18) 6-4 in round two of the SEC Tournament and to advance to within one win of the SEC Championship game. Adrianna Baggetta led the Gamecocks at the plate as she went 3-for-3 and scored two runs, while pitcher Megan Matthews (21-6) earned her 99th career win, moving her into second place on USC’s all-time win list.
“You can never count Alabama out of a game until you make the last out. They jumped on us in the last couple of innings but our pitching bailed us out,” said head coach Joyce Compton. “We continued to stay focused and we didn’t take our lead for granted.”
Alabama took the early lead in the bottom of the first, as Suzanne Olcott scored on an RBI double by Jackie McClain. The Gamecocks would answer back in the top of the second with a three-run inning. With one out, USC hit three consecutive singles, including an RBI shot to center field by Melissa Sandel, to score Baggetta and tie the game 1-1. USC took a 2-1 lead when Danielle Quinones, who went 2-for3, hit a two-out RBI single to left field, driving home Cornett. Sandel eventually scored the third run of the inning on a single by Fittro.
Amber Curtis led off the third inning with a solo blast over the left field fence to put USC ahead 4-1. The homer was Curtis’ sixth on the year, USC’s 30th. The Gamecocks have hit a roundtripper in eight of their last 10 games and at least one in each of the last three.
An RBI double by Samantha Jennings and an RBI single by Quinones gave the Gamecocks their final two runs of the game and a 6-1 lead. However, in the bottom half of the inning, the Tide began to chip away at USC’s lead as they led off with three singles against Matthews, and scored two runs on four hits. USC got out of the inning when Alabama had runners at third and second and Matthews made a great catch when the ball was hit back to her.
With a 6-3 lead going into the Alabama half of the inning, USC had trouble getting outs and with two runners on and no outs, Stacey Johnson was brought in to relieve Matthews. Johnson gave up a double to score another Alabama run, allowing the Tide within two of the Gamecocks, and a walk to load the bases. Matthews was then brought back into the game and was able to record the final three outs as Prejean flied out, Olcott was thrown out at home and Capper Reed struck out looking.
“I was feeling good out there for the most part. This is a big rivalry between us and Alabama and they are always a tough team to play,” said Matthews. “As for the re-entry, I dug myself into the hole, and I felt like it was mine to get out of. I told coach (Compton) that if Stacey got in trouble to put me back in, because I wanted to finish what I started.”
With the win, USC improved to 3-0 against Alabama in the SEC Tournament. The Gamecocks will play the MSU vs. LSU/Georgia winner on Saturday, May 11 at 6 p.m. at Jim Frost Stadium.
