April 27, 2004

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Gamecocks will close out their regular season schedule with a doubleheader against Coastal Carolina Wednesday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. “Family Day” is Wednesday and all children get free admission with a paying adult. The Gamecocks hope to end on a winning note as they are coming off of a 2-1 loss to Ole Miss on Sunday.

For the year, USC is 25-20 and 12-18 in the SEC while Coastal is 22-24 and 5-5 in the Big South. For the series, USC leads 36-2. Last year in Conway, the Chanticleers took game one 7-6 but USC bounced back with an 8-0 six-inning victory for the split.

Coastal, which is led by Sara Hostetler with a .358 average, is coming off of a two-game sweep over College of Charleston. Kristina Sheppard leads the team in home runs with seven. Nancy Crane is the Gamecocks leading hitter with a .336 average while Ashley Smith is second with a .319 average. Smith leads the team in doubles with 11 while Crane leads the team in runs scored with 27.

Following the Coastal series, the Gamecocks will be off for two weeks until the SEC Tournament May 13-16 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. South Carolina is the No. 8 seed at the tournament and their opponent will be determined upon conclusion of the SEC schedule this upcoming weekend.