March 20, 2010
| Coach Compton |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – South Carolina (9-18, 0-9 SEC) dropped an 8-2 decision to No. 8/5 Alabama in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader at the Alabama Softball Stadium.
Junior first baseman Laura Mendes went 2-for-3 and drove in both of the Gamecock runs. Alex Blewitt went 2-for-4 with a homer for Alabama, while Kayla Braud was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI.
Charlotte Morgan put Alabama on top, 3-0, in the first with a three-run shot to left center. That scored Braud, who reached on a leadoff infield single, and Cassie Reilly-Boccia, who got to first on a 3-2 illegal pitch.
South Carolina got on the board in the third when Mendes singled home freshman Hannah Milks after she was hit by a pitch to start the frame. Senior Adele Voigt added a 13-pitch walk ahead of Mendes’ hit.
Alabama answered with two runs in the fourth, as Braud tripled home pinch runner Keima Davis before scoring herself on a wild pitch. Three more Tide runs crossed in the fifth as Blewitt blasted the second pitch of Kelsey Goodwin’s appearance out to left center. A walk and an error put runners at second and third with two down, and Jackey Branham got a double to plate both runners.
The Gamecocks tried to come back in the sixth, as Mendes followed Voigt’s leadoff single with a double to center to score the senior. Carolina tried to post more after a pitch hit junior P.J. Fulmer and Childs moved both juniors into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. But Alabama reliever Amanda Locke got out of the jam with a pair of three-pitch strikeouts.
Lauren Sewell (6-0) picked up the win with five innings of one-run ball, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six. Gamecock junior Ashley Chastain (4-6) took the loss after allowing the three runs in the first without allowing a hit. The Gamecocks’ losing streak extends to 10 games, tying the program record.
South Carolina looks to salvage the third game of the series against the Crimson Tide, which is set for a 2 p.m. EDT start and a FOX Sports Net broadcast.
