March 24, 2010
| Coach Compton |
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A leadoff, two-run home run in the 10th from junior first baseman Laura Mendes powered the Gamecocks (10-19) to a 3-1 victory at Coastal Carolina on Wednesday evening.
Mendes went 2-for-5 with the two RBI, while junior catcher P.J. Fulmer was 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Stacy Snellings had three hits for the Chanticleers (14-15), with Jazmin Daigle and Cacia Pierre adding two each.
Fulmer gave the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead with her RBI single in the fourth. That scored sophomore Lauren Lackey, who reached on a leadoff error. But Coastal tied it in the bottom of the inning when Ashley Pisone led off the frame with a homer to center.
Neither team could score again through seven, sending the game to extra innings for the second-straight season at the Coastal Carolina Softball Field. The teams would keep it at 1-1 through nine. With the international tiebreak rule kicking in for the 10th, the Gamecocks went away from typical strategy to great effect. With senior Adele Voigt placed on second to start the inning, Mendes turned on the 1-0 pitch from Chanticleer starter Ashley Frederick and deposited it over the right-field wall for the homer, putting South Carolina on top, 3-1.
Junior April Borchardt (3-0) got the win in relief, tossing five scoreless innings, fanning two while allowing four hits and one walk. Sophomore Kelsey Goodwin earned her second career save, striking out one while giving up one hit in the 10th. Frederick (9-8) went the distance for Coastal, giving up three runs, one earned, on eight hits and two walks. She struck out six while throwing 155 pitches in the game.
The Gamecocks snapped an 11-game losing streak with the win, while head coach Joyce Compton earned her 950th win at South Carolina.
South Carolina returns home to Beckham Field to face Auburn in a three-game SEC set starting on Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT.
