Feb. 29, 2008

Complete Notes Package in PDF Format

Tournament Central

COLUMBIA, S.C. –

South Carolina Returns Home to Take on Bucknell and Gardner-Webb
The Gamecocks hope to follow up last weekend’s successes with more, as they host the 2008 Carolina Classic. Coming in for the double round-robin tournament is Bucknell of the Patriot League and Gardner-Webb of the Atlantic Sun. Three games will take place on both Saturday and Sunday, with the Bison and Bulldogs battling in the first contest each day, at 11 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday.

This marks the seventh-straight season that South Carolina has hosted a regular-season tournament. In that stretch, the Gamecocks have gone 17-4 during those weekends. In 2004 and 2007, Carolina went undefeated on its home field.

Gamecocks All-Time vs. This Weekend’s Opponents
There has only been one game for South Carolina against either of the weekend’s opponents. The Gamecocks have never met Bucknell in softball, and they hold a 1-0 advantage against Gardner-Webb. That meeting came back in 2005 in the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic, with the Gamecocks taking a 13-7 victory.

Carolina In The Month of March
In the Joyce Compton era, Carolina is 449-137 (.766) during the third month of the year. Last season, the Gamecocks went 10-10 March. On the first of March, Carolina has a nearly-perfect 13-2 mark with Compton at the helm. Carolina is 9-2 on March 2 during the Compton era. Carolina had no games on March 1-2 last year. In fact, the last time the Garnet and Black had a game on the first two days of March was 2003, when they played in the Plant City Tournament. The Gamecocks downed Western Michigan and Troy on the 1st and Virginia Tech on the 2nd that year.

Payne Streaking Again At Carolina
Maybe a day off is what junior Ashton Payne needed. After not starting against Western Carolina, Payne has gone on a tear. A pinch-hit single against the Catamounts started a 10-game hitting streak for the Richmond, Va., native that carried her through the last two weekends. The 10-game skein is Carolina’s longest since 2003, when Jodi Fittro had an 11-game stretch that started against Furman and continued through the first day of the NCAA Regional in Tucson, Ariz. Of course, Payne is no stranger to hitting streaks. She owns the longest during both of her previous two seasons on campus, both 10 games.

She now is tied for the team lead in batting average (.400) and runs scored (6) while holding the advantage in hits (20) and total bases (24). Payne also has shown her versatility, starting seven games in left field and six at second base. She has reached base in all but one game so far in 2008, the last game against North Florida during the opening weekend of the season.

Mendes Bringing Them In At The Plate
Freshman Laura Mendes has been a force in the middle of Joyce Compton’s lineup so far in 2008. The Loxahatchee, Fla., native leads the squad with seven runs batted in entering this weekend’s Carolina Classic. She’s tied for third on the team with two doubles and has one of Carolina’s three home runs on the season. Mendes is also tied for the top spot on the squad with a .238 batting average and six walks. Her .347 on-base percentage stands third on the team among regulars.

Semento Stepping Up Early During Her Freshman Campaign
Rookie Jill Semento has been a big part of Carolina’s offense during the early part of 2008. The Umatilla, Fla., freshman is tied for the team lead in batting average, while she is far and away tops among Gamecocks with her .600 slugging percentage, .488 on-base percentage and three hit-by-pitches. She also is tied for the top spot in doubles and home runs. She has reached base safely in all but one game that she’s played, that being in the second game against North Florida. She has a team-best .421 average with runners on base and .556 mark with runners in scoring position. She’s moved at least one runner up on 57 percent of her chances this season, tops on the squad.

Her weekend in Tampa was outstanding, as Semento hit .625 with three doubles, four RBI, two runs scored and a home run in her three games of action. Her career day so far came versus Wright State, going 3-for-4 with a double and a home run. She enters the weekend having gotten a two-bagger in the last three games.

Schoonmaker Back And Ready to Contribute After Life-Threatening Injury
What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, senior Chrissy Schoonmaker had a halo on her upper body to support her neck that had been broken in three places. Last Friday, Schoonmaker finally took the field to start her senior season. The Sebastian, Fla., native has made an amazing recovery from the injury suffered in an accident during her trip back to Columbia, S.C., from Thanksgiving break. The redshirt senior co-captain, who has started at numerous positions for the Gamecocks during her career, has been penciled into the line-up for 10 games and pinch run in another so far in 2008.

Longo Stepping Up Early During Senior Campaign
Senior Lisa Longo has been a catalyst in the early going for South Carolina. The Valley Stream, N.Y., native might only be hitting .184, but most of her seven hits have been big ones. Four have been for two bases, including a bases-loaded double that gave Carolina the 3-1 win over North Florida in the season opener. She also sparked the two-run third against Western Carolina with her lead-off double. She now has 21 career doubles.

Gamecocks Very Experienced Going Into 2008
With a veteran-laden roster returning for the Gamecocks, there is some wonder as to why they were picked so low in the SEC coaches’ poll. Eight position players and the entire pitching staff from a year ago are back for head coach Joyce Compton’s NCAA Super Regional club.

In terms of the offense back, Carolina returns 81 percent of its hits, 76 percent of its runs, 72 percent of its doubles, 71 percent of its runs batted in, 81 percent of its stolen bases and 69 percent of its walks. The only category that the Garnet and Black have a hole to make up is home runs, where only 48 percent are back. The 11 long balls hit last year by McKenna Hughes was a single-season record.

South Carolina Picked to Finish Fourth in SEC East
Despite returning nearly every starter from last season’s NCAA Regional championship squad, the Southeastern Conference coaches picked the Gamecocks to finish fourth in the five-team SEC East in their preseason poll. Florida was chosen to win the East, while Tennessee was picked second. Georgia was selected third, while Kentucky came in fifth. Alabama was the coaches’ choice to win the SEC West and the overall crown.

Scouting the Bison
Bucknell enters with a 1-4 record, getting its lone victory over Pittsburgh in the Longwood Lancer Leadoff Classic. Freshman Sam Rollandi tops the squad with a .375 batting average and a .444 on-base percentage. Christie Wiest has been good in the circle, going 1-2 with a 1.29 ERA in four appearances. As a team, the Bison hit .175.

Scouting the Runnin’ Bulldogs
Gardner-Webb enters the weekend with a 6-8 record on the year. Most recently, the Bulldogs split in a doubleheader at Winthrop, winning the first game, 4-3, while dropping a 9-0 decision in five innings to end the day. They have gone 0-3 against SEC teams, including a pair of one-run losses at Auburn and at No. 5/7 Florida. Sophomore catcher Mandy Ward leads the squad with three doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and a .561 slugging percentage. Her .341 batting average stands second on the team. Senior Taryn Beck has started eight games in the circle and completed six, holding a 3-4 record with a 2.70 ERA.

The Last Time – South Carolina vs. Gardner-Webb – March 4, 2005
Kate Pouliot earned her first collegiate victory as South Carolina defeated Gardner-Webb, 13-7, in the Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga. McKenna Hughes and Meghan Cornett both went 3-for-4. Hughes scored three runs and had three RBI while Cornett scored one run and had four RBI. Whitney Wierzbicki and Margaret Person also scored three runs, while Jessica Josker went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run.