April 5, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Gamecocks (22-16, 2-9 SEC) step back into conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Kentucky (16-21, 3-6 SEC), the start of an eight-game road swing in the SEC. Friday’s first pitch is slated for 6 p.m. EDT, while Saturday and Sunday’s contests are both scheduled for 1 p.m. starts. Live audio and Gametracker live stats will be provided at GamecocksOnline.com.
Struett Stellar in First Week of Action
Freshman Kristen Struett bided her time until she made her debut. But she definitely knew how to make an impact once playing. She went 1-for-3 in pinch-hitting duty against LSU while tossing the final 2.1 innings in the Sunday contest. Struett shined against Winthrop and Longwood, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors. She tossed a complete game in Rock Hill and hit her first career homer. She added hits in both ends of the twinbill versus the Lancers and another pitching win in game two.
Garcia Still Strong Atop Lineup
Shortstop Samie Garcia ranks second on the team and fifth in the SEC with a .405 batting average, and she’s second in the league with 50 hits. She’s also tied for fifth in the SEC in runs and in the top 15 in the conference stats in slugging percentage, doubles, triples and stolen bases.
The junior saw her 21-game hitting streak snapped in the first game versus Arkansas (3/9), the second-longest documented skein in Gamecock history. Her biggest day came in front of family and a large crowd at the Highlander Classic, when Garcia went 3-for-4 with the game-tying RBI double in the 3-2 comeback win over UC Davis. And during the Blue & Gold Feisberg Memorial, she led the team with nine RBI in the event. Her grand slam versus Providence helped propel South Carolina to the 9-1 (5) win.
Childs Prefers to Trot . . .
Senior third baseman Evan Childs has tallied nine homers on the year, tied for third most in a single season at South Carolina. Two came in the Gamecocks’ series-clinching 8-7 victory over Arkansas on March 11, the second-career two-homer game for Childs, tying the program’s single-game record again. She hit the second homer off Florida Gator pitching this season on March 18. With 15 in her career, she’s tied for seventh on South Carolina’s all-time list with Samantha Jennings and Tina Plew. She’s vying to be the first Gamecock since McKenna Hughes (2004-07) to lead the team in homers twice in her career.
While Lackey Likes Stretching It to Three . . .
Senior outfielder Lauren Lackey has four triples on the year, tying for the SEC lead. Lackey is looking to be the first Gamecock since Ashton Payne in 2007-08 to lead the team in triples in consecutive seasons. Tied for ninth on the Gamecocks’ career triples chart with nine, one more would push Lackey into a tie for seventh with two former standouts, including two-time All-American Karen Sanchelli.
Lackey ranks second in the SEC with her .414 batting average, and she’s tied for 11th with 10 stolen bases. Both marks lead the team.
Westfall A Double Machine in 2012
Senior leftfielder Kaitlin Westfall leads the SEC with 14 doubles this season, one shy of making South Carolina’s single-season top-10 list. Westfall has three more than her closest competition in the league. Five of Westfall’s came in the Blue & Gold Feisberg Memorial, as she posted two each in wins over Illinois-Chicago and Villanova.
Westfall has also contributed four round-trippers on the year, and they both came in pairs on a single day. On March 2, she hit one against both Portland State and Maine in the Highlander Classic at UC Riverside. On March 31, she had one in each end of the doubleheader versus Longwood, including a grand slam in game two that gave the Gamecocks a lead they never relinquished.
Carolina in the Month of April
Since 1984, the Gamecocks are 355-207-1 (.631) in the fourth month of the year. In April SEC games, South Carolina is 101-114 (.470).
The Long Ball Proving to Be Bellweather Again for Gamecocks
The 2012 Gamecocks have tallied 31 homers on the year, one shy of tying the 2005 team for the fourth-highest total in program history. And yet again, the homers point to good things for the team. South Carolina is 16-4 when sending at least one ball out, while it is 3-12 when going without a triple or homer. Last season, the Gamecocks went 17-6 in games in which they hit a homer while winning just three games when the team did not record at least one triple or one home run.
Starting Things Right Very Important for Gamecocks
The Gamecocks thrive when they reach base to start an inning. As a team, South Carolina gets on base at a .424 clip to begin a frame. In the 18 contests where the team has started two or fewer innings with a base runner reaching, the Gamecocks are 6-12.
Big RBI Games Already Surpassing Last Year
The Gamecocks have posted six four-or-more-RBI games already in 2012, four more than what the team did in the whole of 2011. Sophomores Chelsea Hawkins (2/11) and Dana Hathorn (2/22) both drove home four in wins over Winthrop, while junior Samie Garcia had a grand slam in the win over Providence (2/17). Senior Evan Childs has two four-RBI games on the season, the last in the comeback triumph over Arkansas to clinch the series on March 11. And senior Kaitlin Westfall joined the act in game two against Longwood (3/31), launching her first career grand slam and adding another RBI for the first five-RBI day since Jill Semento’s day on April 7, 2009 against Coastal Carolina.
Gonzales Coming on Strong
Junior catcher Shelby Gonzales knew there’d be an adjustment period in her first year of NCAA Division I softball. Last season’s NJCAA Division I RBI leader has seemed to make those in recent weeks. She’s third on the team with a .432 on-base percentage and has added three home runs. She’s been big with runners in scoring position and two outs, going 5-for-10 and driving in eight runs.
Hathorn Leads Gamecocks to Walkoff Win vs. Charlotte
Sophomore second baseman Dana Hathorn stepped up with another big hit to lead the Gamecocks over Charlotte on March 14. She poked a single to left to score Kaitlin Westfall from third and give South Carolina its second comeback win in four days.
Hathorn’s biggest game of the year came in the Feb. 22 win over Winthrop, when she provided two two-run doubles to help lead the team to a 9-1 win in five innings over the Eagles.
Hawkins Providing Thump
Sophomore Chelsea Hawkins has provided a lot of power for the Gamecocks this season, hitting five homers, two shy of making South Carolina’s top-10 single-season charts. She’s driven in 24 runs, third on the team, and also stands third in batting average (.336) and fourth in slugging percentage (.542). The only blemish is the 24 strikeouts in 107 at bats.
Horseshoes, Hand Grenades, Etc.
In last year’s 26-30 season, South Carolina went 7-11 in one-run games and 1-3 in extra-inning affairs. Turning half of those one-run losses into wins would move the Gamecocks a long way to their goal of NCAA Tournament eligibility. The Gamecocks stand at 1-1 in extra-inning games this season, getting a 5-4 victory in eight over Western Kentucky, and hold a 5-4 mark in one-run games.
Howser a Bullpen Ace in Early Going
Freshman Katelynn Howser has done some of her best work in 2012 out of the bullpen. In 15 relief appearances, she’s picked up three saves, which ranks ninth on South Carolina’s single-season chart, and three of her eight wins. In the 42.2 innings of relief, she’s posted a 2.46 ERA. In her 11 starts, she’s 5-4, tossing five complete games and posting a 3.66 ERA in 51.2 innings.
Childs’ Game-Ending Blast New Feeling for These Gamecocks
South Carolina senior Evan Childs ended the series finale against Arkansas with a two-run home run, helping the team claim its first win of the season when trailing heading into the seventh inning. Childs’ walk-off shot is the first for the Gamecocks since McKenna Hughes ended a nine-inning affair against Ole Miss in similar fashion in the second game of the doubleheader on May 5, 2007. It was Hughes’ ninth round-tripper in her program-best 11-homer year.
Hits Kept Coming vs. Charlotte
South Carolina posted 18 hits in the victory at Charlotte on Feb. 29. That mark is the best since March 5, 2005, when the Gamecocks had 20 in a 15-2 win over South Dakota State.
Early Season Schedule Provided Tests
While the first glance at South Carolina’s pre-conference schedule may lead one to think that they should have all been easy games, closer examination says otherwise. Three of the contests came against defending conference champions and NCAA Tournament teams in Illinois-Chicago (Horizon), Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun) and Portland State (Pacific Coast Softball). The Gamecocks went 2-1 in those games, including shutting out the UIC Flames.
Seven Games of HR Equals 2009 Season Total
South Carolina combined to hit 13 homers in the seven-game stretch from Feb. 28-March 4. That total matches what the 2009 team did in 45 games and surpassed the outputs of both 2008 and 2010. In 31 games in 2012, South Carolina has hit 28 homers, three more than in the whole of 2011. The program record is 38 long balls in a season, set in 2003.
Broyles Goes the Distance and More
Redshirt junior Audrey Broyles passed a personal milestone in her first start of 2012, tossing 117 pitches in the complete-game victory over Western Kentucky. That marked the first time since 2010 that Broyles had thrown that many pitches, when she threw 120 in the loss at Florida Atlantic. Broyles felt so strong that she tossed another 1.1 innings against Winthrop immediately following.
The Pembroke Pines, Fla., product leads the Gamecocks with a 2.87 ERA, tossing 63.1 innings this season. She made her first relief appearance of the year on March 11 and held Arkansas scoreless for the final 3.2 innings in the 8-7 comeback win. She pitched a strong seven innings versus Longwood, fanning seven without giving up a walk in the complete-game win. And when things get tough, she gets better, as the chart in the PDF version of the notes shows.
South Carolina Defense Downfall in Early Losses
A common strand ran through the first three Gamecock losses: defensive errors and unearned runs. South Carolina committed seven errors combined and allowed nine unearned runs. Only the Tennessee State game would have stay tied without those runs; the rest would all favor the Gamecocks. Errors also haunted the Gamecocks in the first game against Mississippi State, as four unearned runs crossed in the 10-6 setback on March 13.
Last season, South Carolina went 21-19 when making one or no errors. That record fell to 5-7 in games with two errors. When the Gamecocks made three or more errors, they went 0-4. This season, the Gamecocks are 17-10 when making one or less errors but 5-6 when committing two or more.
South Carolina Offense Posts Back-to-Back 10+ Run Games
South Carolina rebounded from a two-hit effort in the first game against Charleston Southern to post consecutive 10+ run games. The Gamecocks rebounded with a 11-2 win in five innings over the Buccaneers on the nightcap of Feb. 28 before posting a 13-7 win at Charlotte on Feb. 29. The last time South Carolina scored 10+ in consecutive games was on April 3, 2005 when the Gamecocks run-ruled Kentucky in both halves of a doubleheader in Lexington by scores of 12-2 and 10-1.
On seven occasions, the Gamecocks have posted double-digit runs, the most in the team’s SEC era, surpassing the five done by last year’s squad and the 1997 league champions. The most recent team with more than five is the 1996 group, which posted 10 10+ run outings.
Coaches Know a Bit about Winning
Last season was outside of the norm for the Gamecock coaching staff. Both head coach Beverly Smith and assistant coach Janelle Breneman came down from North Carolina, which was ranked in the top 25 in each of their last five seasons in Chapel Hill, while the Tar Heels made NCAA Tournament appearances eight times during Smith’s tenure. Calvin Beamon also knows something about winning, claiming crowns at all three of his amateur stops. A high school state champion at Smoky Hill High School in Cherry Creek, Colo., Beamon won the NJCAA Division I title in 2003 at the College of Southern Nevada and the College World Series at Texas during 2005.
Scouting the Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky brings a 16-21 overall record into the weekend series and a 3-6 mark in SEC play. The Wildcats have played a tough schedule, going 3-11 against top-25 teams. The 14 games against a ranked foe are tied for the most in the SEC. They are 2-8 at home, including Wednesday’s loss to No. 12/13 Louisville.
A team built on stellar pitching last year, the Wildcats have slid back a little this season with a team 3.40 ERA, compared to last season’s 2.41 mark. Chanda Bell has been good again, striking out 101 and walking 29 in 84.1 inings of work, leading the staff with a 2.41 ERA. The other three pitchers, Lauren Cumbess, Ellen Weaver and Rachel Riley, all own ERA’s over 3.00, with Riley’s mark climbing from 2.56 in 112 innings in 2011 to this year’s 4.33 in 76 innings. She’s fanned 47 and walked 22 in 18 appearances, but opponents hit .323 against Riley. Cumbess has a 3.29 ERA, striking out 38 and walking 16 in 38.1 innings.
Offensively, Kara Dill tops the team with a .407/.459/.561 line, scoring 27 runs and stealing 15 bases in 18 tries, all marks the best on the team. But she has committed 15 errors on defense en route to a .893 fielding percentage. Griffin Joiner ranks second on the team with a .307 batting average and .419 on-base percentage. Riley has four homers and a team-best 21 RBI, while Ginny Carroll leads the squad with five homers and a .459 slugging percentage.
Series History Versus the Wildcats
South Carolina is 34-16 all-time against Kentucky, but the Wildcats have taken seven of the last nine in the series. Last season, the Gamecocks picked up a win in the series finale over a nationally-ranked Kentucky team in extra innings. All time at the UK Softball Complex, South Carolina is 14-7, getting swept in 2010 but sweeping in 2008.
The Last Series vs. Kentucky – April 23-24, 2012
The Wildcats took the series-opening doubleheader on Saturday before the Gamecocks salvaged the final game of the series with a 4-3, eight-inning victory at Beckham Field.
No. 20/16 Kentucky used Meagan Aull’s first-inning two-run homer and two sacrifice flies from Annie Rowlands to claim a 5-3 victory over South Carolina in Saturday’s first game. Aull’s homer snuck just over the right-center field wall in front of the scoreboard to give Kentucky the 2-0 lead, driving in Kara Dill after her one-out single. The lead grew to 3-0 on Rowlands’ first sacrifice fly in the second, scoring Samatha DeMartine after she started the inning with a four-pitch walk. South Carolina tried to mount a comeback in the seventh, getting a leadoff single from Dana Hathorn before Kaitlin Westfall drove a ball off the left-field fair pole to make it 5-3. But Kentucky starter Chanda Bell came through to get a groundout and a strikeout to end the ball game. Westfall scored both of the Gamecock runs while going 2-for-3 with the triple and home run. Dill was the only Wildcat with multiple hits, posting two while scoring a run.
Samantha DeMartine’s two solo home runs helped No. 20/16 Kentucky take a 3-2 win over South Carolina in game two in front of 727 fans at Beckham Field. DeMartine went 2-for-2 with the two homers for the Wildcats. Gamecock centerfielder Lauren Lackey went 2-for-2 with a run scored. Down 3-1 in the seventh, Laura Mendes connected with two down, posting a double to the left-centerfield gap, and Evan Childs followed with one down the leftfield line to cut it to a one-run game. However, Riley got a foul out on the next pitch to finish the game.
Julie Sarratt produced all day for South Carolina, posting an eight-inning complete-game win while driving in the game-winning run to lead the Gamecocks past No. 20/16 Kentucky, 4-3, on Easter Sunday. With two down and pinch runner Kelley Dillon on first, Sarratt went with a pitch on the outer half of the plate, driving it into the right-centerfield gap and giving Dillon the chance to beat the throw to the plate to end the game. Dillon came on after first baseman Molly Brossart posted her second single of the day with one down in the eighth. Sarratt scattered eight hits and three walks in eight innings of work, giving up three earned runs while striking out three. Cumbess took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, on three walks and seven hits. She fanned five. Samie Garcia and Brossart both had two hits, while Garcia joined Sarratt with a double. Childs had South Carolina’s only homer, while Yocke and DeMartine both had long balls on 2-for-3 days at the plate. Meagan Aull also went 2-for-4 for Kentucky.
Gamecocks Among Most Experienced Teams in NCAA Division I
South Carolina has 10 seniors listed on the roster for 2012, which is believed to be the most in NCAA Division I this year. Seven position starters return from last year, losing starters at catcher and designated player. When removing two players expected to sit out this year due to injury along with the starts by last year’s seniors, the Gamecocks bring back 92.3 percent of their outfield starts and 84.8 percent of infield starts from third to first.
