March 2, 2013
Statesboro, Ga. – Olivia Lawrence set a school record with five runs scored and the Gamecocks tied the school mark for RBIs in a game with 25, as Carolina routed Alabama State, 29-0, in a five-inning contest on Saturday morning.
The victory was the largest shutout win in school history, while the 29 runs was the fifth-highest single game total and the most runs scored since a 32-3 win over Allen in the 1977 season opener. The 25 RBIs matched the mark set vs. Coppin State in a 27-0 win in 1996.
The Gamecocks (9-3) jumped all over the Hornets (1-12) from the start, belting out seven hits among the 15 batters they to the plate in an 11-run first inning. Carolina came right back with nine more runs in the second and added eight in the third, as they pounded out 20 hits, received eight walks and were aided by a half-dozen ASU errors in the contest.
Julie Sarratt went 3-for-5 at the plate with four runs scored and five RBI, including a three-run homer, her second of the season. Kristen Struett added a pair of hits, scored three times and drove in four. Dana Hathorn was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored and 3 RBI. Eleven different players notched hits for the Gamecocks, while 13 players scored a run.
Katelynn Howser and Lakyn Shull combined on the four-hit shutout for Carolina. Shull (1-0) earned the win in her season debut, tossing four scoreless innings of three-hit relief. She walked one while fanning three.
