April 5, 2004

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina softball returns to action Tuesday night as they host the Georgia Bulldogs in a 5 p.m. doubleheader at Beckham Field. The No. 18/23 Gamecocks will close out the three-game series against the No. 5/6 Bulldogs on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Tuesday is “Family Day” and all children will receive free admission with paying adults. Wednesday is “After School Special Day” and all school children will receive free admission with a paying adult.

The Bulldogs are currently leading the SEC with a 12-3 conference record and a 35-7 overall record. The Gamecocks, 19-12 and 8-10, are coming off of their first Eastern Division series win of the season after defeating Kentucky 2-1. Last weekend, Georgia posted a 2-1 series win over Florida led by this week’s SEC player of the week, Kim Wendland. The Gamecocks are currently ranked fourth in the SEC east.

For the series, USC leads 18-11 and last year the Gamecocks were only able to play two games due to inclement weather. USC fell 4-0 and 10-2 in Athens. Georgia’s last trip to Beckham Field was in 2002 at the NCAA Regional Tournament. After going 2-1 in the regular season and losing 0-2 at the SEC Tournament, USC split with Georgia at the regional and eliminated the Bulldogs with a 9-3 win.

Nancy Crane and Ashley Smith currently lead the Gamecocks at the plate. Crane is hitting .368 and leads the team in hits with 39, while Smith has a .333 average and is second on the team in home runs and RBI with six and 19 respectively. Pitcher Stacey Johnson has an 11-4 record with a 0.75 ERA while Aleca Johnson is 3-2 with a 0.98 ERA.