March 7, 2013

Gamecocks’ Schedule

Fri., March 8 vs. Massachusetts (at USF)
11:30 a.m. ET | Live Audio | | @GamecockSoftbll

Fri., March 8 at USF
2 p.m. ET | Live Audio | | @GamecockSoftbll

Sat., March 9 vs. Northwestern (at Eddie C. Moore Complex Field 8)
9:30 a.m. ET | Live Audio | | @GamecockSoftbll

Sat., March 9 vs. Villanova (at Eddie C. Moore Complex Field 8)
11:45 a.m. ET | Live Audio | | @GamecockSoftbll

Sun., March 10 vs. Penn State (at Eddie C. Moore Complex Field 1)
11:15 a.m. ET | Live Audio | | @GamecockSoftbll

2013 SC SB Notes (3/7)

South Carolina Team Notes

• The Gamecocks have won all 12 games when they have scored seven or more runs. The team has not won a game scoring less than seven.
• Winning five-consecutive games by the run rule is the best as far as those records go (since 1995). The previous best stretch of run-rule wins came in 1995.
• South Carolina’s leadoff batter has reached 60.2 percent of the time so far in 2013, tops in the SEC.
• The top two hitters in the batting order, Samie Garcia and Alaynie Page, have a combined 18 multi-hit games in this season’s 15.
• The top three hitters in South Carolina’s batting order, Garcia, Page and Dana Hathorn, all have reached base in all 15 games.
• The Gamecock pitchers has walked 1.76 batters per seven innings, which ranks fourth in the SEC.
• In two of the three losses, the Gamecocks drew one or no walks. South Carolina pitchers gave up five and three walks in two of the losses, two of their three highest outputs this year.
• In the win over Radford (2/24), redshirt senior Audrey Broyles tossed her first shutout since Feb. 26, 2011 against Elon. This was a three-hitter to defeat the defending Big South regular-season champs.
• Also recording their first shutouts as Gamecocks this year were sophomore Katelynn Howser (vs. Buffalo) and freshman Katie Marks (vs. Florida International).
• Gamecock pinch hitters are 8-for-14 (.571) at the plate and reach base at a .667 clip, drawing six walks and getting hit by two pitches.

Statements Made in Statesboro

• South Carolina picked up its first win against a 2012 NCAA Tournament team when it downed Georgia Southern 7-2 on Sunday.
• The Gamecocks scored their most runs in the NCAA era (since 1982) with a 29-0 victory over Alabama State. That also matches the largest margin of victory in recorded history at South Carolina, tying a 32-3 win over Allen in 1977.
• The team tied a program high with 25 RBI in the game, matching the output from a 27-0 win over Coppin State on March 31, 1996.
• Only in 1996 have the Gamecocks scored more than 56 runs in a four-game stretch, with 62 vs. Coppin State and Virginia twice each.
• The 1988 team scored 55 (vs. North Carolina, Georgia Southern twice and McNeese State), while the Gamecocks tallied 52 the 2013 opening weekend vs. Michigan State and Stetson, twice each.
• Sophomore Olivia Lawrence broke the school record by scoring five runs in the Alabama State game, topping a mark set nine times, including thrice this year.

Postcards from Orlando

• Sophomore pitcher Katelynn Howser garnered her first career shutout in the Gamecocks’ 8-0 (5) win over Buffalo, giving up only one hit.
• It was the first one-hitter for a Gamecock hurler since 2011, when Julie Sarratt did it against Coastal Carolina (4/11/11), and the 56th since 1995 for South Carolina.
• Samie Garcia tripled in each of the last four games, matching her 2012 total in those four games.

Opening Weekend Notes

• South Carolina scored 52 runs on the opening weekend of 2013, picking up two run-rule victories while scoring double-figures in all four games.
• It ranks as the first time the Gamecocks have scored double-figure runs in four-consecutive games in the NCAA era (since 1982).
• The only other time in the NCAA era that the Gamecocks scored double figures in three-straight games was 1995 (10 at Virginia, 11 vs. George Mason and 11 vs. USF), later matched this year.
• The 15 runs in the opener against Stetson is the most in a season opener in the program’s NCAA era.
• The two run-rule wins to start the year matches the 1993, 1996 and 2004 squads. On three occasions, Gamecock student-athletes tied the then-school record in runs scored. Twice, Samie Garcia accomplished the feat on Feb. 9, while Alaynie Page did it as well in the second game (vs. Stetson, Feb. 9). Samie Garcia reached base in each of her first 10 plate appearances.

Schedule Notes

• South Carolina opens the 2013 season with 23 road games (five weekends + one midweek DH) and 29 of 32 due to ongoing construction at the new Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
• The 1997 team spent 23 of its first 26 games away from home in the most similar stretch in the Gamecocks’ SEC-era history.
• The 1988 squad played its first 31 games away from Columbia (six weeks on the road), while the 1987 team spent its first 20 games traveling (10 days).
• The Gamecocks have 31 of their 53 scheduled games against teams who made the 2012 NCAA Tournament, including the first three games at the USF Under Armour Showcase.
• All 24 SEC games are against NCAA tourney participants.
• Four of South Carolina’s SEC games will be on television, including one on national outlet ESPNU.

Tracking Garcia

• Samie Garcia entered 2013 on many top 15 career lists at South Carolina, and her performance so far in 2013 has helped her leap up the charts.
• She’s second in batting average (.372), second in on-base percentage (.441) and fourth in slugging percentage (.555).
• After triples in the last four games of the UCF Holiday Inn Select Tournament, Garcia is tied for seventh in that career category with 10.
• Garcia is also tied for fourth in hit-by-pitches (14), tied for 14th in homers (11) and 15th in runs (100).
• Currently, Garcia ranks as the 16th toughest Gamecock in recorded history to strike out, going 14.17 at bats per strikeout.
• In the per-game categories, she’s second in hits (1.21), second in runs (0.79), fourth in triples (0.08), fifth in home runs (0.09) and 10th in doubles (0.17).
• She stole four bases in the Stetson Lead-Off Classic to move into the top 10 in that category. Now with 10 on the year, she’s seventh in stolen bases (36) and third in stolen bases per game (0.29).
• To track others in the top 20 in South Carolina’s career categories, see the sidebar on page six of the notes.

Roster Notes

• South Carolina returns four position starters from last year’s team, including 40 starts in right field (Chelsea Hawkins), 44 at catcher (Shelby Gonzales) and 54 at both shortstop (Samie Garcia) and second base (Dana Hathorn).
• The Gamecocks’ 2012 leaders in batting average, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, slugging percentage, walks and stolen bases graduated.
• Eighty-two percent of the team’s sacrifice hits departed, the highest of any offensive category. The next highest percentage is stolen bases (71%).
• Despite losing doubles leader Kaitlin Westfall and single-season home run record-tying holder Evan Childs, the Gamecocks have 51 percent of its doubles and 52 percent of its homers back in 2013.
• With the 11 departed players, the Gamecocks also lost players who took 41 of their 65 pinch-hitting appearances and the top four pinch runners.
• Back is the 2012 team leader in runs scored (Samie Garcia, 41), who also tied for the team lead in stolen bases.
• The team returns over two-thirds of the innings thrown in 2012, including ERA leader Audrey Broyles and strikeout leader Katelynn Howser.
• Coming back from season-long injuries last year are redshirt senior Kelley Dillon and redshirt sophomore Julie Sarratt.
• Nine newcomers join the roster, including six freshmen, a sophomore transfer and two junior-college transfers.
• The team is again dominated by South Carolina natives, with 40 percent of the roster hailing from the Palmetto State.

Family Ties

• The Masters sisters Ashlyn and Lauren are the first siblings to play on the same Gamecock team and the second set ever, after the Troesh sisters, Leanna (1997-99) and Debralee (2000-03).
• Junior Chelsea Hawkins is the niece of Tia Rogers (2002-04 letter-winner).
• While not a Gamecock, Samie Garcia is the cousin of Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

Scouting Massachusetts

• The reigning Atlantic 10 champs, who went 38-13 in 2012, enter the weekend at 2-6 on the year.
• Three starters were lost from last year’s team that went undefeated in A-10 play, including All-America pitcher Sara Plourde, who tossed 309.1 of the team’s 340.2 innings and led the team with 11 homers and a .663 slugging percentage.
• Last year’s top hitter, Cindil Matthew, is 6-for-24 on the year, but she does have three of the team’s seven stolen bases. In 2012, she stole 36 bases and had a .409/.476/.537 line.
• Quianna Diaz-Patterson is 7-for-25 this year, a year removed from a .327/.392/.515 line.
• Tiffany Meeks leads the Minutewomen with a .316 batting average, three doubles, one homer and seven RBI.
• Junior Caroline Raymond leads the team in innings pitched (27.0) and strikeouts (15), but she’s walked 25 to put her ERA at 4.67.
• As a staff, the Minutewomen have walked 47 and struck out 22 in 47.2 innings of work.

Scouting USF

• USF brings an 11-10 record into the weekend, including a win over Big Ten power Michigan.
• The Bulls have a five-game winning streak, answering a seven-game skid that included losses to Louisiana-Lafayette, Florida and Kentucky, all top-25 teams.
• The Bulls’ pitching staff has struck out 165 adn walked 58 in 146 innings, posting a 1.68 ERA.
• Lindsey Richardson (1.29 ERA, 49.0 innings) and Sara Nevins (1.34 ERA, 57.2 innings) lead the way, both with over 65 K’s and less than 18 BB’s.
• Junior Kourtney Salvarola leads the offense with a .306/.478/.449 line, stealing four bases without being caught.
• Senior Kenshyra Jackson has three homers and 10 RBI, tied for the team lead in the latter with junior Stephanie Medina.
• Courtney Kramer, a freshman who has yet to play, and Dana Hathorn both hail from Timber Creek High School in Orlando, Fla.

Scouting Northwestern

• The Wildcats stand at 10-9 on the year, with six of those losses coming against top-25 teams.
• Northwestern downed Tennessee for its biggest win of the year.
• All but 11 innings return from last year’s pitching staff, led by incumbent ace Meghan Lamberth, a senior who is 4-3 with a 2.16 ERA in 45.1 innings in 2013. She’s fanned 26 and walked 14.
• Sophomore Amy Letourneau has fanned 93 and walked 45 in 68.1 innings of work, posting a 1.95 ERA and a 6-5 record.
• Freshman Brianna LeBeau leads the team with a .450/.593/.550 line.
• Sophomore Olivia Duehr (3) and junior Marisa Bast (5) have eight of the team’s 13 homers in 2013.
• Bast leads the team with 17 RBI, while Duehr holds the team’s top slugging percentage at .697.

Scouting Villanova

• Villanova is 5-5 in 2013 after going 32-24 in 2012.
• The Wildcats have lost four of their last five, including a 3-0 setback to common foe UCF and a pair of losses to SEC West member Mississippi.
• Freshman Kate Poppe leads the team in the circle, fanning 60 and walking 26 in 44.1 innings of work. Foes are hitting .186 against her, as she holds a 1.62 ERA and a 5-3 record.
• Senior Amanda Marquez and sophomore Beth Smetana have Villanova’s four homers, with
• Smetana leading the way with six RBI.
• Marquez tops the team with a .433/.500/.667 line.
• Shea Palmer has three stolen bases, while Ali Lowe and Smetana have two each.

Scouting Penn State

• The Nittany Lions bring a 3-4 record into the weekend after finishing 2012 with an 18-32 mark.
• Two of their losses came against SEC teams last weekend, LSU and Texas A&M.
• Senior Cassidy Bell has five homers and 15 RBI already on the year, posting a .591/.625/1.364 line while adding four stolen bases.
• Senior Alyssa Renwick, from Laurens, S.C., helps with three swipes and a .476/.520/.571 line.
• Freshman Macy Jones has been helpful as a two-way player for Penn State, going .381/.409/.762 at the plate and posting 15 K’s and seven walks in 21.1 innings in the circle.
• Jones is 3-1 with a 4.59 ERA, while the rest of the staff has tossed 18 innings, striking out six and walking 31.
• Opponents have hit five homers off Jones and hold a .271 batting average against her, better than the team’s composite of .324.