March 24, 2013
BATON ROUGE, La. – Behind a 3-for-3 day from sophomore Kristen Struett, South Carolina (18-11, 1-5 SEC) picked up its first Southeastern Conference win of 2013 in a 4-1 victory over No. 13/12 LSU (27-6, 7-2 SEC) in front of 1,230 fans at Tiger Park on Sunday afternoon.
Struett had two RBI singles while also drawing a walk and hitting a double in the win. Junior right fielder Chelsea Hawkins went 1-for-3 with a two-RBI single. Freshman left fielder Alaynie Page scored twice, going 1-for-3, while senior shortstop Samie Garcia tripled and scored.
Garcia started the contest with a triple to right and scored on Struett’s first run-scoring hit, a single that the Tiger shortstop fielded deep in the hole but could not get the throw to first in time to catch Struett. The sophomore struck again in the third, plating Page with her hit to left center after the freshman drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a groundout.
LSU cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth on Kellsi Kloss’s two-out double, scoring Tammy Wray from first after she drew a two-out walk. But the Gamecocks answered in the next half inning, loading the bases to start the frame on Page’s bunt single, Hathorn’s 12th hit by pitch of the year and a walk to Struett. LSU starter Rachele Fico (16-4) got a strikeout before Hawkins poked a 2-2 pitch into right field for a hit, scoring Page and Hathorn.
Gamecock redshirt senior Audrey Broyles (7-4) got the victory with a complete-game performance, fanning two and walking two while giving up five hits and one earned run. Fico took the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and three walks. She struck out four.
Sandra Simmons was the only Tiger to collect two hits, while Andrews and Kloss both had doubles for the Tigers.
South Carolina gets its first win at new Tiger Park, which opened in 2009, in nine tries. It snaps a 15-game losing streak to the Tigers, and it’s the first road win over a ranked team since South Carolina’s last win in Baton Rouge, April 6, 2007. The Gamecocks get their first win over a ranked team since April 23, 2011, when the Gamecocks, in head coach Beverly Smith’s first year, downed No. 20 Kentucky 4-3 in eight innings at home.
South Carolina returns to SEC play on Fri., March 29 at Missouri, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. EDT. SportSouth is slated to televise the first SEC meeting between the two Columbia-based schools.
