April 17, 2011
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Junior first baseman Molly Brossart’s RBI single in the fourth gave South Carolina (23-21, 5-14 SEC) a lead it would not relinquish, as the Gamecocks downed Arkansas (11-34, 2-20 SEC), 5-4, to capture the series win at Bogle Park on Sunday afternoon.
Brossart came up with sophomore shortstop Samie Garcia on third and two outs and poked the first pitch into left field, plating Garcia after she started the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on freshman second baseman Dana Hathorn’s groundout.
The Gamecocks took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, as sophomore rightfielder Hannah Milks stroked a homer to left to start the scoring. Hathorn followed with a single and stole second before Brossart got a single to center. Junior leftfielder Kaitlin Westfall scored Hathorn with a single, while senior designated player Laura Mendes drove home the third run with her base hit to left center. When the ball kicked away from the Arkansas left fielder, Westfall motored around third to score the fourth run. South Carolina loaded the bases with one out, but Arkansas reliever Kim Jones ended the threat with a foul out and a grounder.
Arkansas came back to tie the game in the third, rallying with two outs. The inning appeared to be over when Hathorn made a diving catch at second, but an illegal pitch gave Becca Carden another life. She took that and roped a double down the left-field line to start the rally. A tough hop on a grounder to second allowed Jennifer Rambo to reach ahead of Courtney Breault, the hero of Saturday’s second game. She came through again, driving the 3-1 pitch out to left to make it 4-3. Amanda Geile followed with a ball that just reached the rocks in right center to tie the game.
Senior April Borchardt (6-3) came in to stop the bleeding in the third, giving up a single before a grounder ended the frame. She pitched a hitless fourth after Brossart’s big RBI in the top of the fourth to earn the win.
Freshman Julie Sarratt came on next and pitched two perfect innings before running into trouble in the seventh. A nice catch by Westfall in left center started the seventh before Linnea Ketcher beat out an infield single. Chloe Oprzedek followed with a hit to put the winning run aboard. Sarratt got Carden to pop out for the second out of the inning. Rambo came up and lined a ball off Sarratt, loading the bases for Breault. This time, she flew out to right to close the game, giving Sarratt her second save of the year.
Jones (2-13) took the loss, giving up two earned runs on eight hits and a walk. She struck out six.
Milks posted a 3-for-4 day with the homer to lead South Carolina. Brossart went 2-for-4 with the RBI, the only other Gamecock with multiple hits. South Carolina stole five bases, led by Hathorn’s two. Geile had two of Arkansas’s nine hits. South Carolina won its second game on TV this weekend, as ESPNU showed the contest on its nationwide network.
South Carolina steps out of SEC play to host NC State and Charlotte as part of an eight-game homestand. Tuesday’s contest against the Wolfpack starts at 5 p.m. EDT at Beckham Field.
