March 1, 2008
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| Box Score |
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Both freshman Jill Semento and junior Jacqueline Wetherbee hit home runs to back senior Melissa Hendon as South Carolina downed Gardner-Webb, 6-0, to close out day one of the Carolina Classic at Beckham Field. The Gamecocks move to 9-8 on the season, while the Runnin’ Bulldogs fall to 6-10.
Semento had the game-winning RBI in the first, as she smashed a 3-2 pitch from Taryn Beck out to left center, plating junior Ashton Payne to give Carolina the 2-0 lead. Payne reached with a single up the middle, extending her team-best hitting streak to 12 games. She’s the first Gamecock to have a 12-game hitting streak in over seven years.
Carolina added another run in the third, as Semento hit a liner to right center that Kelly Linsley almost grabbed on the run. But the ball slipped out of her glove, and Semento made it all the way to third. Senior right fielder Jessica Josker followed up with a single back through the box to score Semento, the first RBI of the season for Josker.
The Gamecocks put three more runs on the board in the sixth. Freshman catcher P.J. Fulmer led off with a single, and pinch runner Whitney Wierzbicki advanced to second on Lindsay Walker’s sacrifice bunt. Senior third baseman Becky Martinez moved Wierzbicki to third with her solid single to left. First baseman Chrissy Schoonmaker then plated her senior classmate with a sacrifice fly to center. That brought up Wetherbee as a pinch hitter, who crushed the 2-1 offering from Beck over the left field fence for her first home run of the year.
Hendon (3-4) scattered five hits over seven innings while mowing down eight for her third straight shutout. She now has thrown 23.1 consecutive innings without allowing a run. Beck (3-5) picked up the loss, allowing six earned runs on 10 hits while striking out five in 5.2 innings of work.
Semento had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-3 on a single, triple and a home run with two runs scored and two RBI. Martinez went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
The Gamecocks conclude the 2008 Carolina Classic tomorrow with two games. They face Gardner-Webb at 12 noon before squaring off against Bucknell at 2 p.m. The Runnin’ Bulldogs and Bison meet in the day’s first game at 10 a.m. at Beckham Field.
