March 11, 2007
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – South Carolina softball came from behind to claim a 4-1 victory over the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks Sunday for the three-game series sweep. Junior pitcher Melissa Hendon (9-1) threw a no-hitter for 6.2 innings as she held Arkansas to two hits and one unearned run. Jessica Josker came in to pinch hit for South Carolina and drove in the tying run and scored the winning run as the Gamecocks improve to 23-3 and 3-0 in SEC play.
This marks the Gamecocks’ first three-game conference sweep since 2005. With the sweep, South Carolina sits atop the SEC East for the first week of conference action. Arkansas fell to 10-17 and 0-3 in the SEC, while Katy Henry (7-7) took the loss. Henry gave up four runs on seven hits, two of them unearned, and struck out eight.
Two Gamecock errors in the fourth inning allowed Arkansas to score their first run of the series and first against the Gamecocks in 27.2 innings. Hendon had retired 10 straight batters before Jessica Bachkora reached on an error by Lindsay Walker to give Arkansas their first base runner of the game. Dayna Huckabee then hit to right field but Payne dropped the ball and Bachkora scored from second to give the Lady Backs the 1-0 lead.
South Carolina rallied in the fifth and scored two runs on three hits to take the 2-1 lead. Martinez doubled for her second hit of the game to spark the rally. Josker, who went 2-for-2, entered the game to pinch hit for Tori Martin and hit a two-out single to score Martinez to tie the game 1-1. The rally continued as Payne then doubled to drive in Josker and gave South Carolina the 2-1 lead.
The Gamecocks added two more runs in the seventh on an error by Samantha Buckner after Jacqueline Wetherbee and Josker recorded two hits with two outs in the inning. Payne hit a slow roller to first base, but Buckner mishandled the ball before throwing it into the dugout, and allowed runners, Cagney Davis and Martin, to come home.
Arkansas refused to quit and in the seventh, challenged the Gamecocks. Hendon was one out away from a no-hitter and Miranda Dixon broke it up with a single to right field to rain on the occasion. Whitney Cloer added another single to the mix to give Arkansas two base runners and brought the tying run to the plate. With Brittany Robison up next, who went 2-for-3 against Hendon on Saturday, the Gamecocks decided to change pitchers and brought in Pouliot to record the final out. Pouliot came in and recorded the needed out on a fielder’s choice groundout to record her first save of the season, fourth of her career. With the save, she is now tied for fourth all-time in career saves for the Gamecocks.
With the sweep, South Carolina has won six straight and Head Coach Joyce Compton is now two wins away from No. 1,000 of her career. The Garnet and Black will host Virginia Tech in a doubleheader on Wednesday, March 14 at 4 p.m.
South Carolina 4, Arkansas 1 (Mar 11, 2007 at Fayetteville, Ark.)
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South Carolina…… 000 020 2 – 4 7 2 (23-3, 3-0)
Arkansas………… 000 100 0 – 1 2 1 (10-17, 0-3)
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Pitchers: South Carolina – Melissa Hendon; Kate Pouliot(7). Arkansas – Katy Henry;Teighynne Hulsey(7).
Win-Melissa Hendon(9-1) Save-Kate Pouliot(1) Loss-Katy Henry(7-7) T-1:45 A-129
