April 11, 2012
by Koby Padgett
Assistant Media Relations Director
ATHENS, Ga. – A strong showing by South Carolina (23-19, 3-12 SEC) could not overcome No. 11/11 Georgia (32-8, 10-5 SEC), as Paige Wilson ended the contest with an RBI double to hand the Bulldogs the 4-3 win in game one at Jack Turner Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
With runners at first and second, Wilson drove the 1-0 pitch off the centerfield wall, scoring Brttney Hubbard from second to close the ball game. Hubbard singled to start the frame and moved to second on Macie Couey’s sacrifice bunt.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the first on Ashley Razey’s RBI single to left, scoring Wilson from first after she drew a leadoff walk. Ashley Pauly tried to move to third, but Gamecock starter Kierstyn White cut off the throw and threw out Pauly.
South Carolina knotted things in the third. Junior catcher Shelby Gonzales doubled off the left field wall, and junior shortstop Samie Garcia moved senior pinch runner Jackie Slawson with a grounder to second. Senior centerfielder Lauren Lackey chopped a ball to short and beat the throw, allowing Slawson to score from third to tie the contest.
The Gamecocks had a golden opportunity in the fifth but came up empty. Gonzales and Garcia drew one-out walks before Lackey hit a single to center to load the bases. But Georgia starter Erin Arevalo got a strikeout and a grounder to end the threat without any damage.
With two down in the sixth, Kristyn Sandberg lined an 0-2 pitch over the wall in center to make it 2-1. Tess Sito powered the next pitch over the wall in left, giving Georgia a 3-1 lead and marking the second-consecutive game that the Bulldogs hit back-to-back homers.
But the Gamecocks tied it in the seventh, as sophomore second baseman Dana Hathorn, with two outs, got a single to center, scoring Garcia and Lackey after Garcia had a one-out double and Lackey reached on a strike-three drop by the Bulldog catcher.
Arevalo (17-3) got the complete-game win, giving up three runs, two earned, on eight hits and two walks. She struck out 11. Freshman Kristen Struett (2-1) took the loss for the Gamecocks, giving up one earned run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning. Senior Kierstyn White went 5.2 innings for the Gamecocks, giving up three earned runs on three walks and five hits. She fanned one.
Lackey went 2-for-4 for the Gamecocks with a run and an RBI. Garcia, Gonzales and sophomore right fielder Chelsea Hawkins all doubled for the Gamecocks. Sandberg was the only Bulldog with two hits, going 2-for-3 with the homer and a double.
