March 2, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina softball returns to action this weekend when they host the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday and the Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday. The Gamecocks will put their seven-game win streak and their 4-0 home record on the line when they take to the field. Both doubleheaders are set for 1 p.m. at Beckham field.

South Carolina is 15-2 and just completed a doubleheader sweep over Campbell earlier in the week. Ashton Payne leads the Gamecocks with a .375 average as she has 24 hits and 10 runs. Payne is the only player on the team with more than 20 hits. She has recorded a hit is 16 of South Carolina’s 16 games this season and currently has a nine-game hitting streak, the longest of the season and a career best for the shortstop. SEC Freshman of the Week Lindsay Walker is close behind as she has a .353 average with 18 hits, nine runs scored and nine RBI. Walker has four doubles on the season, tied for second most on the team.

In the circle, Melissa Hendon has won her last three outings and is 4-1 with 80 strikeouts. Kate Pouliot is 9-0, a career best, with a 0.48 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched.

South Carolina leads the series against Charlotte 28-2 and has won 20 consecutive meetings against the 49ers. The last Charlotte win came in 1990. This year, the 49ers enter the contest with a 14-1 record. With their only loss coming to Western Carolina on Feb. 23, Charlotte strung together a 12-0 win streak. Becky Matthews leads the 49ers with a .396 average, 19 hits, 11 runs and 12 RBI. Matthews also leads the team in doubles with six. Sarah Malene has 20 hits on the season and is hitting .351 as she also leads the team in runs scored with 16, and RBI with 15. Charlotte relies on Christy Murray (7-0) and Kristen Bowen (5-1) in the circle. Murray has a 2.07 ERA with 43 strikeouts, while Bowen has a 2.15 ERA with 30 strikeouts.

Sunday’s match-up will mark the second meeting this season between Pittsburgh and the Garnet and Black. The opened the season against each other at the Miken Invitational at FAU in February and the Gamecocks came home with the victory, a 3-0 shutout. Pittsburgh is 2-7 and is coming off two wins against Prairie View A&M and a loss to UT-Arlington. Alex Shoemaker leads the Panthers in RBI with nine and hits with eight, while hitting .308. Meghan Bostick is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 20 innings pitched. South Carolina leads the series against Pitt 4-0.

Should South Carolina extend its win streak to eight games, it would be the longest of the season for the Gamecocks. The last time the Gamecocks had eight wins in a row was in 2004 when they opened the season 8-0. USC has not had more then eight wins since the 2002 season.

All games can be followed live via Internet audio broadcast and through Gametracker on uscsports.com.