May 3, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Only a handful of teams get to end their season with a victory, and South Carolina became one of those with a 9-2 victory over Kentucky at Beckham Field on Sunday afternoon in the final game of 2009 for the Gamecocks.
Sophomore Jill Semento led the Gamecocks (21-24, 6-21 SEC) with a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two RBI. Freshman Evan Childs also had two RBI, while junior Adele Voigt and sophomore Laura Mendes both scored two runs.
The Garnet and Black jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first, partially thanks to a pair of errors by the Wildcats (31-20, 13-14 SEC). Mendes and Voigt reached base and moved up on freshman Kristen Stubblefield’s attempted sacrifice bunt. Stubblefield reached first on the play after an error by the Kentucky third baseman. Semento followed with an RBI single that glanced off the glove of the leftfielder as she tried to chase the ball down in the corner at the wall. Childs followed with her two-RBI single. With one down, Semento came home on a passed ball, and Childs followed when junior Lindsay Walker got on via an error by the first baseman. With two down, senior Jacqueline Wetherbee drilled the first pitch she saw to the gap in left center, plating classmate Cagney Davis.
Things were quiet until Kentucky got on the board in the fifth, thanks to a Molly Johnson two-out RBI single, which scored pinch runner Macy Allen. The Wildcats added another in the sixth on Natalie Smith’s RBI single, bringing home Megan Yocke after her double started the inning.
But the Gamecocks came back to get three in the bottom of the sixth. Voigt doubled to left center, sending home Wetherbee, while Stubblefield drove in Mendes with her hit through the left side. Semento got the final RBI of the contest with her shot back through the middle, scoring Voigt.
Sophomore Ashley Chastain (1-0) got her first win of the year, going five innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits and a walk. Amber Matousek picked up the loss, giving up six runs, two earned, on four hits and a walk.
