April 4, 2008

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Riding a four-game winning streak, the Carolina Gamecocks return to Southeastern Conference action for a three-game series against Auburn on Saturday and Sunday at Beckham Field. The Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, while Sunday’s single game will begin at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the SEC-TV networks of FSN South, FSN Southwest and Sun Sports.

The Tigers enter the weekend with a 31-9 record overall and a 9-5 SEC mark while standing just outside of both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)/USA Today Coaches Top 25 and the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings. Last weekend, Auburn took the series two games to one from top-25 Tennessee on the plains, including a 1-0 victory in eight innings in the rubber game.

Carolina in the Month of April Under Joyce Compton
In the Joyce Compton era, Carolina is 284-134-1 (.679) during the fourth month of the year. Last season, the Gamecocks went 7-9 in April. All-time on April 5, Carolina owns a 13-6 mark, while on April 6, the Garnet and Black have gone 9-6, including two wins over Auburn at Beckham Field in 2002.

Gamecocks All-Time vs. Auburn
The Gamecocks and Tigers have battled 33 times prior to this weekend on the diamond, with Carolina holding a slim 18-15 margin in the series. At Beckham Field, the series has been mostly one-sided, with the Gamecocks winning nine of the 14 contests. However, Auburn has won 11 of the last 13 games, including a three-game sweep on the plains last April.

Payne Leading the Way at the Plate
Junior Ashton Payne has been the sparkplug for the Gamecock lineup this season. The Richmond, Va., native leads the squad in batting average (.378), runs scored (18), hits (42), triples (4) and total bases (55). She saw her hitting streak of 18 games snapped in the second game against No. 22/20 Georgia. That streak is the third-longest documented string in Gamecock history, and the longest since 2003, when Jodi Fittro had an 11-game stretch. Of course, Payne is no stranger to hitting streaks. She owns the longest skein during both of her previous two seasons on campus, both 10 games. She rebounded last week and currently has a six-game string entering the Auburn series.

Mendes Named SEC Freshman of the Week
Laura Mendes has been a force in Joyce Compton’s lineup so far in 2008. The rookie outfielder earned SEC Freshman of the Week accolades after her five-run, two-double weekend in the series win over Arkansas. She hit .333 against the Lady’Backs, driving in the tying run in the seventh inning of the first game before scoring on Jessica Josker’s walk-off single.

The Loxahatchee, Fla., native leads the squad with six doubles, ranks second in runs (16), home runs (2), runs batted in (12) and on-base percentage (.408), while she stands third on the squad in batting average (.318) and slugging percentage (.459). Mendes saw her team-best 20-game on-base streak snapped in game two on March 15 against No. 22/20 Georgia.

Musical Lineups Maybe Coming to an End?
Through 32 games, South Carolina has yet to run the same eight positions players on the field in the same spots in back-to-back games. That string may come to an end soon, as Joyce Compton has seemed to find her top players per position. The only spot that could have some uncertainty is behind the plate. The only change made from the final game in Kentucky to the matchup against Winthrop was in the battery. P.J. Fulmer caught Melissa Hendon against the Wildcats, while Cassie Gogreve received for Krystle Robinson.

Senior Pitchers Finishing Careers Strong
After a rough start to the season, senior pitchers Melissa Hendon and Kate Pouliot have come around recently. Both finished in the SEC top 10 in earned run average last season, and now they are bidding to do that yet again. Hendon had a stretch of five consecutive winning starts from Georgia Tech through the second game against Arkansas, four of those in shutouts. During the winning streak, she fanned 46 in seven appearances (37.1 innings). She also collected a save during that stretch. She had a pair of 10-strikeout games against Arkansas, allowing only one earned run combined in the two contests. After dropping four straight, she’s come back to take two in a row, getting a pair of victories and a save last weekend at Kentucky. Hendon currently leads the team with a 1.40 ERA, three saves and 97 strikeouts in 99.2 innings.

Pouliot had a great weekend in the Carolina Classic. She carried a perfect game into the sixth against Bucknell in her first game before allowing a run in the seventh, the only run to score against Carolina during the home tournament. Not satisfied with Saturday’s work, Pouliot came back on Sunday and was even better, throwing her first career no-hitter against the Bison. She matched her season best with seven K’s while allowing only one walk in the contest. She now has a 3-2 record with a 1.75 ERA and one save.

Semento Stepping Up During Her Freshman Campaign
Rookie Jill Semento has been a big part of Carolina’s offense during 2008. The Umatilla, Fla., freshman leads the team with her .525 slugging percentage, .426 on-base percentage, three home runs and four HBP. She also is tied for second in doubles (5), while she’s alone in second in batting average (.325) and triples (1). She has a team-best .379 mark with runners in scoring position.

Robinson Looking Strong Returning from Elbow Surgery
Redshirt freshman Krystle Robinson had a rough go of things during her first year in Columbia. She pitched in just five games before a torn ligament in her throwing arm ended her season. Now after working her way back, she has become the force that Joyce Compton and staff thought she could be after recruiting her from Valdosta, Ga. Robinson threw two straight shutouts against Wisconsin and Gardner-Webb, mowing down a career-high 12 batters in the complete-game victory over the Runnin’ Bulldogs. For the season, Robinson is 7-5 with a 2.17 ERA and a save.

Schoonmaker Contributes 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 a neck that had been broken in three places. On Feb. 8, 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 in 2006. 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 19 games while playing in five others so far in 2008. She has shown her versatility as well, starting games at all four infield positions this season. Battling a foot injury sustained at Kentucky, Schoonmaker will be unable to play this weekend and will be reevaluated on Monday.

Bases Loaded Not Always Best Situation to Score, Especially Right Off
The Gamecocks have been adept at loading the bases this season. Scoring runs in those situations has been a different topic, particularly in the first inning. Nine times in 2008 has South Carolina loaded the bases, and only once has the squad scored, that coming against Michigan with one out. Contrast that to the seventh, where the Garnet and Black have put ducks on the pond with two outs on three occasions. Runs came home all three times, including one to tie the game against North Florida (2/10) and another to come from behind to beat Kentucky (3/29). Carolina has gone 9-for-34 (.265) with the bases loaded.

Walker’s Resurgence Comes in Move Up the Lineup
Sophomore shortstop Lindsay Walker had been struggling with the bat in 2008. So what does Hall of Fame coach Joyce Compton do? Moves her to the second spot for the first time in her career. It has worked through four games. The Fayetteville, Ga., native has hit .273 since the move up the line-up, scoring three runs in the process. Her biggest contribution may have come without any at bats. She has laid down four sacrifices in those contests, including three in the first game at Kentucky. That has solidified a weakness the club had, as she is the eighth person to hold down that critical spot. For the season, Walker now has a .208 batting average with three doubles.

Martinez Feeling at Home . . . on First?
Senior Becky Martinez has made a seamless transition across the diamond. The senior had played 148 games at third base in her career (as well as 16 in the outfield as a freshman) before Joyce Compton penciled her in as the starting first baseman in the final game at Kentucky. She has taken to her new corner well, handling 27 chances without an error through two games. She had made seven errors at the hot corner already this season. At the plate, Martinez has hit .203 with an on-base percentage of .330, fourth on the team.

Gamecocks Very Experienced Going Into 2008
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 returned 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 Auburn Tigers
Auburn holds a 31-9 record overall entering the weekend. Pitching is the key for the Tigers, as they stand second in the league with a 1.62 ERA overall. Tiger hurlers have compiled 357 strikeouts in 277.1 innings. The offense has been suspect, hitting just .249 on the year. They do lead the league, however, in hit by pitches with 44, while they are tied for second with 11 triples. The squad has made an SEC-leading 67 errors and has a .942 fielding percentage. In SEC games only, Auburn ranks seventh in hitting (.230 batting average, .311 on-base percentage) and fifth in earned run average (2.60). The Tigers have made 33 errors in 13 SEC games.

Taryn Gray and Tatiana Fernandez lead the offense. Gray hits .333 with 19 RBI, while Fernandez leads the squad with 26 RBI and 10 doubles, which is tied for fifth in the league. Brittany Scott has scored 23 runs, tops on the team, and has a .316 batting average.

Auburn has three of the top 11 pitchers by ERA in the SEC. Lauren Schmalz has a 1.12 mark, third best in the league, while Brittany Day has a 1.26 earned run average, fourth overall. But the ace is Anna Thompson, who has a 10-6 record with four saves in 23 games while compiling a 1.70 ERA. Day has a slight edge on Thompson in shutouts, five to four, and overall record, as Day stands at 10-2. Thompson has an overwhelming edge in strikeouts, fanning 170 hitters in 111.1 innings pitched. Day has sat down 92 batters in 72 innings, while Schmalz has 46 in 43.2 innings. Of the 93 runs scored on Auburn, 29 of those have been unearned.

The Last Time – South Carolina vs. Auburn – April 29, 2007
Tatiana Fernandez hit a walk-off three-run home run to lift the Auburn Tigers (25-30, 10-18 SEC) to a 3-0 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks (32-21, 10-15 SEC) on Sunday afternoon. The win also gave the Tigers the three-game sweep over the Gamecocks. Melissa Hendon (16-14) took the heartbreaking loss despite her stellar efforts in the circle. Hendon threw a perfect game for six innings before Ashley Arcuri led off the seventh with a single.