April 18, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina softball will play its final regular season non-conference game Wednesday when the Gamecocks host the 22nd-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. The single game is set to start at 5 p.m. at Beckham Field. The Gamecocks are 29-15 overall and 22-5 in non-conference games this year. The Tar Heels are 40-12 overall and 30-8 in non-ACC action.

South Carolina is 1-8 against Top 25 teams so far this season with its lone win coming against No. 5/6 LSU. The Gamecocks are coming off of a three-game sweep over SEC foe, Georgia, while the Tar Heels dropped a doubleheader to Virginia Tech. The Gamecocks are third in the SEC East, seventh in the conference, while UNC is second in the ACC.

In their last meeting, the Gamecocks defeated North Carolina 4-3 in Chapel Hill at the Tar Heel Invitational in 2006. The Gamecocks went on to win the tournament.

McKenna Hughes leads the Garnet and Black with a .336 average, 45 hits and 33 RBI and 11 doubles. The Gamecock pitching assignments have been split between Melissa Hendon and Kate Pouliot. Hendon is the current SEC Pitcher of the Week with a 14-10 record. She has won her last four of five appearances, including a current three-game streak, while Pouliot is 13-4 with a 1.35 ERA.

For North Carolina, Breanna Brown leads with a .374 average and 61 hits, which ranks her second in the ACC in this category. Brown is also the team leader in steals with 16, followed by Cassie Palmer with 15. Lisa Norris is 23-8 in the circle with a 1.74 ERA and 200 strikeouts. As a team, the Tar Heels have outscored its opponents 247-117. The Gamecocks have outscored its opponents 137-79.

This will mark the third ACC team this season the Gamecocks have faced. So far, South Carolina is 1-2 with a split against Virginia Tech and falling to Florida State back in February.

The game can be followed live via audio broadcast or Gametracker online at www.uscsports.com.