March 7, 2010
| Coach Compton |
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Gamecocks (9-9) could not get the bats going as the squad lost to No. 7 Michigan, 8-0, in five innings to close the team’s stay at the 2010 Easton SEC/Midwest Challenge at Alabama Softball Stadium.
The Wolverines (14-4) took the lead in the first on RBI singles by Roya St. Clair and Dorian Shaw, chasing Gamecock starter Ashley Chastain (4-3) after just five batters. Sophomore Kelsey Goodwin came on and got out of the jam. She pitched well, giving up two hits and one earned run in 2.2 innings of work. The one run came on Angela Findlay’s homer to right center in the third.
Michigan added four more in the fourth, as Findlay and Shaw plated two more a piece with singles. Pinch hitter Marley Powers closed things out in the fifth with an RBI hit that plated Molly Bausher, who reached via a Gamecock error.
Stephanie Speierman (1-0) got the victory in relief, throwing three perfect innings out of the bullpen. The Michigan pitching staff held the Gamecocks to two hits, both coming in the first inning. Goodwin earned a spot on the event’s all-tournament team, as she picked up her first career save in the win over DePaul.
South Carolina opens Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday in Oxford, Miss., as the Gamecocks face Mississippi in a doubleheader slated for a 4 p.m. CT start at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
