April 20, 2011
by Koby Padgett
Assistant Media Relations Director
April 20, 2011 • Columbia, S.C.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Charlotte | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Coach Smith |
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (24-22) used a seventh-inning Hannah Milks sacrifice fly to take a 2-1 win over Charlotte (24-20) on Wednesday afternoon at Beckham Field.
The sophomore rightfielder Milks came up with junior centerfielder Lauren Lackey on third and hit the 3-0 pitch to center field just to the right of the pink “SC” logo, painted that color for StrikeOut Cancer day at the park. That was deep enough for Lackey to score from third. She reached on a leadoff infield single, moved to second on sophomore shortstop Samie Garcia’s perfect sacrifice bunt and took third on a wild pitch.
Charlotte took the initial 1-0 lead in the first when Tenaya Tucker hit a ball over the wall in left center, just beyond the glove of Gamecock junior leftfielder Kaitlin Westfall as she crashed into the fence.
But South Carolina came back to tie the game in the third when Westfall came up with runners on first and second and two down and drove the 3-1 pitch over the 49ers’s leftfielder, allowing Garcia to score from second.
Westfall also made two big plays in left to help out South Carolina freshman starting pitcher Julie Sarratt (7-7). In the second, Lorena Vela hit a ball that seemed destined for the gap until Westfall came in to make the running catch. And in the fifth, Westfall ended the inning with some help from Garcia. With a runner on first, Carol Buchan lined a ball that bounced off the left field wall. Westfall got to the ball, threw it to the relay Garcia, who turned and tossed a strike to the plate where senior catcher P.J. Fulmer tagged out Chelsea Stamey to end the inning.
Sarratt gave up just three hits and the one earned run while striking out four in the victory. Charlotte’s Kalie Lang (4-4) took the loss, giving up one earned run on three hits in 3.2 innings out of the bullpen.
Lackey led the Gamecocks with a 2-for-3 day, adding a stolen base and a run scored. Milks and Westfall both had RBI’s for South Carolina. Buchan had two of Charlotte’s three hits.
A total of 526 fans came out to Beckham Field as a part of the StrikeOut Cancer effort. The Gamecocks wore garnet shirts with pink lettering, while the 49ers had pink jersey tops for the contest.
South Carolina hosts No. 20/16 Kentucky in a three-game series this weekend. First pitch for Friday’s contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT at Beckham Field. Saturday’s game is slated for a 4 p.m. start, while Sunday’s finale is set for 1 p.m.
