Feb. 10, 2007
BOCA RATON, Fla. – An RBI-single by Lindsay Walker in the bottom of the ninth inning pushed South Carolina past the Miami-Ohio Redhawks 3-2 Saturday evening in day two action of the FAU Miken Invitational. The win gave the Gamecocks a 3-0 record on the season and the Redhawks fell to 0-4. Pitcher Kate Pouliot earned the victory as she pitched three hitless innings in relief to improve to 2-0. With the win, the Gamecocks will play in the championship game on Sunday.
Ashton Payne, Melissa Hendon and Tori Martin recorded two hits each, while Martin recorded her first career double. The Gamecocks drew six walks, and for the second time this season, posted at least 10 hits. Both teams had several opportunities to score, but the efforts were unsuccessful as the Garnet and Black stranded 13 runners on base and the Redhawks left 10.
South Carolina’s defense struggled early in the game. USC surrendered its first runs of the season after an error by Caitlin Marsh allowed two runs to score for the Redhawks in the first inning. That would be all the runs Miami would muster however.
Down 2-0 in the bottom of the first, USC managed to cut the lead in half when McKenna Hughes hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Payne.
In the second, the Redhawks loaded the bases with one out but the Gamecock defense tightened up and escaped the inning unharmed. Marsh and Tori Martin both robbed the Redhawks of two hits to nab outs two and three and end the inning.
South Carolina loaded the bases in the third on a hit by Hendon and back-to-back walks by Walker and Becky Martinez. USC evened the score, 2-2, when Jacqueline Wetherbee flied out to score pinch runner Cagney Davis on the sacrifice.
Freshman Krystle Robinson started the game for the Gamecocks and pitched six innings in her debut. She gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits, five walks and four strikeouts.
Pouliot entered the game in the top of the seventh with two runners on, no outs and inherited a 2-0 count as she was able to come in and halt Miami-Ohio at the plate. With a groundout fielder’s choice, a fly out to left field and a pop to short, Pouliot and the Gamecock defense made it out of the inning safely. With the tie-breaker rule in effect, Pouliot returned in the eighth and ninth inning to record 1-2-3 outings for the eventual win.
USC will round out pool play around 9 p.m. Saturday when they take on FAU, who is also undefeated at the tournament. The two teams will meet again in the championship game on Sunday despite the outcome of the Saturday night meeting.
South Carolina 3, Miami-Ohio 2 (Feb 10, 2007 at Boca Raton, Fla.)
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Miami-Ohio………. 200 000 000 – 2 4 2 (0-4)
South Carolina…… 101 000 001 – 3 10 3 (3-0)
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Pitchers: Miami-Ohio – VIKARTOFSKY; CABANA(4). South Carolina – Krystle Robinson; Kate Pouliot(7).
Win-Kate Pouliot(2-0) Loss-CABANA(0-2) T-2:31 A-0
Robinson, K. faced 2 batters in the 7th.
CABANA faced 3 batters in the 9th.
