Feb. 11, 2012
by Koby Padgett
Assistant Media Relations Director
February 11, 2012
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | R | H | E |
| Western Kentucky | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Highlights |
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Senior leftfielder Kaitlin Westfall tied it in the eighth before sophomore second baseman Dana Hathorn ended it with a single to left to give South Carolina (1-1) its first win of 2012, downing Western Kentucky (2-1) 5-4 in the second game of the Palmetto Classic on Saturday afternoon.
The Gamecocks had to respond after the Hilltoppers posted two runs in the top of the eighth on Mallorie Sulaski’s double, scoring Kelsie Mattox and Karavin Dew after both reached on hit by pitches.
But the Gamecocks did respond, as senior centerfielder Lauren Lackey started the inning on second thanks to the international tiebreaker in effect for all tournament extra-inning games and moved to third on a grounder. Junior rightfielder Hannah Milks drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a passed ball. Westfall came up and drove a 1-2 pitch over the WKU centerfielder, scoring both runners. Senior third baseman Evan Childs singled to move Westfall to third, setting up Hathorn’s heroics. The sophomore poked the 0-1 offering inside the left field foul line, scoring Westfall easily to end the game.
Western Kentucky took the 2-0 lead in the first on Amanda Thomas’s two-run double. That scored Shawna Sadler and Mattox, who reached on a walk and a hit by pitch, respectively.
The Gamecocks chipped away at the lead in the fifth, as senior pinch runner Jackie Slawson scored from third after senior Kylie Morin started a rundown with one out between first and second. South Carolina tied it in the sixth on Westfall’s triple over the Hilltopper rightfielder, scoring junior shortstop Samie Garcia from second after her one-out double.
Westfall went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a double and triple, while Hathorn went 3-for-4 with the game-ending RBI. Sulaski went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI for Western Kentucky.
Redshirt junior Audrey Broyles (1-0) went the distance, allowing four earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out seven. Emily Rousseau (1-1) took the loss, throwing 7.1 innings and giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits and three walks. She struck out five.
