Feb. 16, 2011
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Five errors cost South Carolina (3-2), as Winthrop (3-2) posted three runs in the sixth to take a 5-2 victory over the Gamecocks on Wednesday afternoon at Beckham Field.
Winthrop’s Chelsey Schoenfeldt, Veronica Berrie and Teja Durante all posted two hits, while Durante drove in two runs. Junior third baseman Kelley Dillon had two hits for the Gamecocks, while four other Gamecocks tallied single hits.
The Gamecocks got on the board in the third when junior first baseman Molly Brossart plated junior shortstop Evan Childs after Childs started the inning with a single. South Carolina had runners at second and third with one out, but Winthrop pitcher Natalie Becker got out of a jam. A suicide squeeze attempt was unsuccessful, while Becker got a strikeout to get out of the inning.
Winthrop took the lead in the fourth, first tying the game with Brittany Stoudemire’s RBI single. She later scored when the Gamecocks had a throw get away on the infield.
Senior designated player Laura Mendes tied things at 2-2 in the fourth when she scored on an Eagle error. The Gamecocks threatened again, with two runners on base with one down, but Becker induced a shallow fly ball and a strikeout to escape the jam.
The Eagles took the lead for good in the sixth. Berrie drove home pinch runner Ashleigh Jackson to take the advantage. Winthrop added insurance runs on Durante’s two-RBI triple.
Becker (2-0) kept the Gamecocks off balance in the complete-game victory. She gave up two earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five. South Carolina senior reliever April Borchardt (1-1) took the loss, allowing three runs, one earned, on four hits and a walk in 3.1 innings of action. Freshman Julie Sarratt got the start and extended her hitless streak thru the top of the fourth before Schoenfeldt doubled with one down. Sarratt ended up allowing three hits, two runs, one earned, and a walk while striking out six in 3.2 innings.
South Carolina hits the road for the first time in 2011 this weekend, as the Gamecocks face the field in the Homewood Suites/Hilton Garden Inn Florida Gulf Coast Tournament. The event begins on Friday, with South Carolina and Villanova scheduled for the second game at 11:15 a.m. at the FGCU Softball Complex.
