March 4, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The South Carolina Gamecock softball team (15-5) scored six runs in the third inning to defeat Canisius (4-4) 9-1 in five innings on day two of the Tar Heel Invitational Saturday. It marked the first mercy-rule game of the season for USC. Carolina recorded five doubles and two home runs to account for the runs. Kate Pouliot earned the victory and improved to 2-1, while Christie Hamilton drove in a career high, four runs.
Pouliot pitched five innings, struck out seven and gave up one run on four hits. The Golden Griffs’ Courtney Piar took the loss and fell to 1-2. Piar pitched two innings and gave up six runs on four hits.
Hamilton, Chrissy Schoonmaker and McKenna Hughes each scored two runs for the Gamecocks, while Hamilton went 3-for-3 at the plate, including her second home run in as many days. Wetherbee also hit her second home run in as many days, when she belted a roundtripper to right field in the third.
Hamilton put USC on the board in the first inning with a two-out two-run home run, also scoring Hughes, who reached safely on a walk. USC went up 2-0.
The Gamecocks exploded offensively in the third. Schoonmaker led off the inning with a walk then scored from second on an RBI double by Josker. Hughes drew a walk then Hamilton doubled to score Josker. The Garnet and Black continued to move through the lineup as Lisa Longo hit another double, this time to center field, to score two more runs. Up 6-0, Wetherbee followed with her two-run homer to give the Gamecocks the 8-0 lead. After going through the lineup, Canisius eventually got out of the inning with a strike out.
USC added another run in the fourth after Hamilton doubled for the second time in the game and scored Schoonmaker, who led off the inning with a single.
Canisius broke up the shutout in the fifth inning when Cameron Norton led off with a double. Pouliot struck out the next batter but Angela Turrey doubled to score Norton and put the Griffs on the board. That would be all that Canisius would earn as USC retired the next two batters to end the game.
