Feb. 21, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Redshirt sophomore Krystle Robinson collected her first win of the year as the Gamecocks held down Chattanooga, 3-1, to close out South Carolina’s day in the Gamecock Invitational.
South Carolina (10-1) did its damage in the fourth, getting two triples in the frame. Senior Ashton Payne collected her second three-bagger of the afternoon, driving the 1-2 pitch with one out over the right fielder’s head to start the rally. Freshman Evan Childs drew a walk ahead of sophomore Jill Semento’s game-tying sacrifice fly. Freshman Kristen Stubblefield followed with a triple to center, scoring Childs. Senior Jacqueline Wetherbee followed with her first hit of the year to score Stubblefield and close out the scoring in the inning.
Chattanooga (5-10) got on the board early. Leadoff hitter Lyndsey Styles reached on an error by the third baseman to start the game and moved to second on Tia Blosser’s walk. The duo moved into scoring position on a wild pitch before Robinson settled down. She got two consecutive strikeouts and had a 0-1 count on Toni Hutchinson before the catcher tapped the ball in front of the plate. Sophomore Cassie Gogreve pounced on the ball and readied to throw to first, but there was no one there to cover the bag. Style scored behind the play to take the early 1-0 lead. Robinson got Jenni Martin to fly out to right to end the frame.
Robinson (1-0) went five innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits and two walks while sitting down four in the victory. Freshman Kierstyn White got her first career save, tossing two perfect innings. Michelle Fuzzard (1-4) gave up three earned runs on three hits and a walk to get the loss.
The Garnet and Black wrap up play in the Gamecock Invitational on Sunday against Troy. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
