April 8, 2008

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – With a six-game winning streak on the line, the South Carolina Gamecocks play their final non-conference game of the 2008 regular season on Wednesday at Coastal Carolina, with first pitch set for 5 p.m. The Chanticleers enter the weekend with a 16-24 record overall and a 4-2 mark in the Big South Conference. They downed Charleston Southern in a doubleheader on Sunday before their twinbill against future conference foe Gardner-Webb on Tuesday.

Carolina in the Month of April Under Joyce Compton
In the Joyce Compton era, Carolina is 286-134-1 (.681) during the fourth month of the year. Last season, the Gamecocks went 7-9 in April. All-time on April 9, Carolina owns a 21-6 mark, including an 8-0 record over the Chanticleers on the date.

Gamecocks All-Time vs. Coastal Carolina
These two programs have met 44 times prior to this game, making the Chanticleers the fourth-most played opponent for South Carolina in history. The Gamecocks have controlled the series, holding a 39-5 mark all-time over Coastal. In Conway, the Garnet and Black have captured 13 of the 16 meetings.

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 (.381), runs scored (19), hits (45), triples (4) and total bases (58). 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 had a seven-game string snapped in game two of the doubleheader against Auburn.

Mendes Making Mark in Freshman Campaign
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, is tied for the team lead in walks (12) while ranking second in runs (17), home runs (2), runs batted in (12) and batting average (.319). She stands third on the squad in slugging percentage (.451) and on-base percentage (.404). Mendes saw her team-best 20-game on-base streak snapped in game two on March 15 against No. 22/20 Georgia, but she currently has a six-game hitting streak heading into the week.

Musical Lineups Maybe Coming to an End?
Through 34 games, South Carolina has yet to run the same eight positions players on the field in the same spots in back-to-back games. However, if you limit that to everyone outside of the battery, things have gotten consistent for the last four games. Seven fielders and the designated player have been identical in that quartet of contests, with only the pitcher and the catchers changing. It seems that freshman P.J. Fulmer has been teammed with senior ace Melissa Hendon, while fellow rookie Cassie Gogreve works with senior Kate Pouliot and redshirt freshman 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 three in a row, getting a pair of victories and a save at Kentucky before collecting a win and a save in the doubleheader against Auburn. Hendon currently leads the team with a 1.29 ERA, four saves and 110 strikeouts in 108.2 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 4-2 record with a 1.71 ERA and one save. She picked up her latest win in relief against Auburn.

Semento Stepping Up During Her Freshman Season
Rookie Jill Semento has been a big part of Carolina’s offense during 2008. The Umatilla, Fla., freshman leads the team with her .494 slugging percentage, .410 on-base percentage, three home runs and four HBP. She also is tied for second in doubles (5) and triples (1) and third in batting average (.306). She has a team-best .344 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 2.24 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 week 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). The team also has success in the fifth with the bases juiced, scoring seven runs in the six occurences, the latest coming in game two against Auburn with no one out before Lindsay Walker’s bases-clearing triple. Carolina has gone 10-for-36 (.278) 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 six games. The Fayetteville, Ga., native has hit .333 since the move up the line-up, scoring three runs in the process. Her biggest contribution came with her bases-loaded triple in game two against Auburn, giving the Gamecocks the lead and eventual win. She has proven to be adept handling the bat with six sacrifices in the skein, including three in the first game at Kentucky. Those bunts have solidified a weakness the club had, as she is the eighth person to hold down the No. 2 spot. For the season, Walker now has a .222 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 39 chances without an error through four 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 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Coastal has struggled in 2008, going 16-24 overall, including an 11-game losing streak earlier this season. Offensively, the team hits .248, scoring 131 runs in 40 games. Defense has been an issue, as the club has 63 errors on the season, leading to 67 unearned runs.

The offense is led by Verity Long-Droppert, who has a .361 batting average with five home runs, nine doubles and 22 RBI, all leading the squad. She reaches base at a .455 clip, also best on the team. Brittany Birnbaum has helped, driving home 17 runs.

Pitching has not been strong either. Ashley Frederick has an 8-13 record, holding a 2.51 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 134 innings. She’s allowed 142 hits and 32 unearned runs. Michelle Evans has been the other starter, going 2-5 with a 3.96 ERA in 20 appearances and 12 starts.

The Last Time – South Carolina vs. Coastal Carolina – April 29, 2007
Despite a determined rally by Coastal Carolina in the seventh inning, South Carolina was able to hold on to a 1-0 lead to defeat the Chanticleers in game two Wednesday night. The win gave South Carolina the doubleheader sweep as they improved to 20-3 on the season. Kate Pouliot recorded the victory and improved to 11-1, while the Gamecocks scattered four hits among four players to get the one run across. In the third inning, Adele Voigt recorded her second triple of the day with one out. Lindsay Walker followed with the RBI double, providing the Gamecocks’ only run of the game.