May 3, 2008
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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Sophomore Cagney Davis had a pinch-hit RBI single in the sixth that proved to be the difference, as the Gamecocks kept their Southeastern Conference Tournament hopes alive with a 4-3 win over No. 15/16 LSU in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday at Beckham Field. The win moved Carolina to 21-25 on the season, 8-17 in SEC, while LSU drops to 40-15, 16-11 in the league.
Junior Ashton Payne led Carolina with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate with an RBI and a run scored, while freshman Cassie Gogreve had a 2-for-3 day with a run scored.
The Gamecocks staked out the 1-0 lead in the first when senior Jessica Josker singled home Payne, who led off the game with a single and moved into scoring position on Lindsay Walker’s sacrifice bunt.
Carolina added two runs to the lead in the second. Senior Becky Martinez reached second on an error by the LSU third baseman and moved to third on a Gogreve single. After LSU made a pitching change, junior Jacqueline Wetherbee doubled to left, plating Martinez. Payne followed with a single back through the middle, allowing Gogreve to score.
LSU pulled within two on Jazz Jackson’s RBI single in the fifth. The Gamecocks escaped more damage in that inning thanks to a diving stop and throw to third to get the lead runner by the shortstop Walker.
Carolina put a final insurance run on the board in the sixth when Davis singled home pinch-runner Whitney Wierzbicki. Gogreve led off the frame with a single and came out for Wierzbicki, who moved to second on Wetherbee’s sacrifice.
LSU made it interesting in the seventh, loading the bases with one down off Carolina reliever Kate Pouliot. Shannon Stein doubled to left, scoring Jessica Mouse and Jackson to make it a one-run game. Redshirt freshman Krystle Robinson, the Gamecocks’ original starter in game two, came in and got a line out and a grounder to short to close out the game.
All told, Robinson (8-6) went five innings, allowing three hits, a walk and one earned run while fanning four. LSU’s Tiffany Garcia (3-3) got the loss, lasting one inning while allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits and a walk.
Saturday’s victory snapped a program-long, 10-game losing streak and was the Gamecocks’ first victory over a top-25 team in 2008 in 17 tries. The Gamecocks now need a win on Sunday to take the eighth and final spot in the SEC Tournament over Mississippi, while LSU is still fighting for the third spot for next weekend’s affair in Baton Rouge, La.
The rubber match of the three-game series starts at 1 p.m. at Beckham Field. Prior to the game, South Carolina will honor six seniors and two graduating managers for their contributions to the program.
