March 16, 2007
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Southeastern Conference softball action returns to Beckham Field for the 2007 season as the 24th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks host the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in a three-game series March 17-18. Saturday is also Pack the Park Day, where fans can wear their team jersey and get $1 admission, and the first 200 fans get a free Gamecock t-shirt. First pitch for both days is scheduled for 1 p.m.
This is the conference home opener for the Gamecocks who have a 24-4 overall record and a 3-0 record in the SEC and lead the SEC East. Alabama enters the weekend 25-1, 4-1 in the SEC and leads the SEC West. The Crimson Tide leads the series 16-14 and has won the last eight meetings against South Carolina. This is also the highest ranked team the Gamecocks will have faced this season. USC is 0-1 against ranked teams so far this season.
The Tide currently leads the conference in team hitting with .342, while the Gamecocks’ pitching ranks second in the conference, with a 1.04 ERA. Alabama is third in pitching in the SEC with 1.09. The Gamecocks’ hitting is seventh with .270. In SEC games only, Alabama leads in hitting with .336, while South Carolina leads in pitching with 0.00 ERA. The Gamecocks’ hitting is fourth in SEC games with .264 and the Tide is ninth in ERA with 2.71.
The Crimson Tide is coming off a doubleheader split with No. 19/22 Florida on Wednesday. Brittany Rogers leads the Crimson Tide with a .453 batting average and has 39 hits and 31 runs scored. Lauren Park enters with a .475 average and has 25 RBI. Mary Burford leads the team in RBI with 29 and posts a .358 average. Alabama has deep run potential as they have nine players in double-figures of runs scored, while the Gamecocks have six. The Tide also has eight players in double-figures in RBI while South Carolina has four. Both teams have nine players in double-figures in hits. Chrissy Owens leads the Tide on the rubber with a perfect 13-0 record and a 0.86 ERA.
South Carolina is also coming off a doubleheader split as they took game one against All-American Angela Tincher and Virginia Tech 2-1, but fell in game two to the Hokies, 5-1. Ashton Payne, Lindsay Walker, McKenna Hughes and Melissa Hendon continue to lead the Gamecocks offensively and in the circle. Payne leads the team in hits with 31 and has registered a hit in 21 of 23 games she has played in this season and has 12 RBI. Walker is hitting .306 with 26 hits, including six doubles, and 12 runs scored. Hughes is the team’s leading in RBI with 21 and home runs with eight, and is now two home runs shy of tying the school single season record of 10.
On the pitching side for the Gamecocks, Hendon and Kate Pouliot remain the constants for the Garnet and Black. Pouliot is 12-2 with a 0.80 ERA in 17 appearances. Hendon is 10-1 with a 0.92 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 15 appearances and has won her last eight outings.
The Gamecocks need one more win to record career No. 1,000 for head coach Joyce Compton. Compton will become only the sixth coach in Division I history to reach this milestone, and the ninth coach in NCAA history. Compton will also become only the second coach in the SEC to have this many victories.
All three games can be followed live via audio broadcast or Gametracker online at www.uscsports.com.
