March 3, 2005

Columbia,S.C. – The Gamecock softball team departs for another tournament this weekend as they travel to Atlanta, Ga. for the Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech University. South Carolina will open against Boston University on Friday at 4 p.m.

USC will then face Gardner-Webb at 8 p.m. on Friday then on Saturday, play Ohio State at 11 a.m. and South Dakota State at 1 p.m. Bracket play will begin Saturday night at 8 p.m. This marks the first meeting between Boston, Gardner-Webb and South Dakota State for the Gamecocks. USC is 2-0 against Ohio State.

The Gamecocks are coming off of a 3-1 weekend at the Leadoff Classic, including an extra-inning win over then 13/15th-ranked Georgia Tech. Jessica Josker hit .467 and went 7-for-15 at the plate with five runs scored. Pitcher Melanie Henkes went 2-0 with a 0.40 ERA while Aleca Johnson recorded her first win of the season.

Boston comes to the tournament with a 2-3 record as they posted wins over North Dakota State and Longwood at the Central Florida Tournament last weekend. Jamie Haas leads the Terriers with a .353 batting average. Pitcher Brittany Detwiler is 2-1 with a 2.21 ERA.

Gardner-Webb is 6-7-1 and is coming off of a split series against Charlotte. The Gamecocks will be the third SEC team the Bulldogs will have faced this season. Gardner-Webb lost to Tennessee 8-0 in five innings and Auburn 4-0.

The Buckeyes of Ohio State are 5-5 and were the 2002 champions of the Buzz Classic. OSU is coming off of an 11-2 win over Long Island and went 1-4 at the Palm Springs Classic in California. Jamee Juarez leads the team in hitting with .476 while Liz Caputo leads in RBIs with 10. In the circle, Juarez is 3-4 (2.92 ERA) and Chelsea Baker is 2-1 (2.62 ERA).

South Dakota State is 4-2 and is led by Kassy Hernandez and Steph Kuhl. Hernandez is hittin .529 while Kuhl is hitting .500. Kim Westendorf is 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA and has 25 strikeouts on the season so far.