South Carolina Heads to No. 7/6 Missouri for SEC Showdown

March 28, 2013

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Gamecocks at No. 7/6 Missouri – March 29-30
University Field – Columbia, Mo.

2013 SC SB Notes (3/28)

South Carolina Team Notes

The Gamecocks won their first 13 games by scoring seven or more runs.
Winning five-consecutive games (2/24-3/3) 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 48.1 percent of the time so far in 2013, second in the SEC.
The Gamecock pitchers have walked 2.06 batters per seven innings, which ranks fourth in the SEC.
In four of the 11 losses, the Gamecocks drew one or no walks. Only once in a win (0 vs. Villanova) did South Carolina walk less than two times.
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 9-for-24 (.375) at the plate and reach base at a .483 clip, drawing four walks and taking one hit by pitch.

Single-Season Record Already Fallen; Others to Watch

Junior second baseman Dana Hathorn has already broken the single-season hit-by-pitch mark, getting plunked 12 times this year through 29 games.
Senior shortstop Samie Garcia has six triples on the year, tying for 14th in Gamecock history. Her next would join her with Dana Fulmer (1995), Tiff Tootle (1993) and Jana Zimmerman (1992) with seven in a year.
Junior right fielder Chelsea Hawkins made it a 13-way tie for 15th place with six homers already this season. Her next ties her for 10th with five other players.
Junior Ashlyn Masters has three sacrifice flies, good to tie for 12th on the single-season list. Another would tie her for seventh with six others.
Garcia’s 15 stolen bases is tied for 13th in a single season with five other players. One more ties former teammate Hannah Milks for 12th.

Some Single-Game Marks Rewritten in 2013

South Carolina beat Alabama State 29-0 (5) on March 2, setting a new NCAA-era record for runs in a game and tying the program record for margin of victory.
The Gamecocks tied their high of 25 RBI in that Alabama State contest.
Sophomore Olivia Lawrence broke the runs-scored record against the Hornets, crossing home five times.
Chelsea Hawkins tied the single-game homer record with two blasts against Kennesaw State, also on March 2.

Schedule Notes

South Carolina opens the 2013 season with 22 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.
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.
The Gamecocks lost their first two TV contests to No. 4/6 Alabama and No. 13/12 LSU. Friday’s game at Missouri is being televised on FOX Sports South.

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 (.365), second in on-base percentage (.435) and fourth in slugging percentage (.537).
After her triple at No. 13/12 LSU (3/24), Garcia stands alone in seventh with 11 in her career.
Garcia is also fifth in hit-by-pitches (14), 13th in runs (108), tied for 14th in homers (11), and tied for 14th in total bases (246).
Currently, Garcia ranks as the 17th toughest Gamecock in recorded history to strike out, going 13.88 at bats per strikeout.
In the per-game categories, she’s second in hits (1.19), third in runs (0.77), fifth in triples (0.08), eighth in home runs (0.08), 10th in walks (0.32) and 11th in doubles (0.18).
She stole four bases in the Stetson Lead-Off Classic to move into the top 10 in that category. Now with 15 on the year, she’s tied for sixth in career stolen bases (41) and second in stolen bases per game (0.29).

In Wins and Losses, Who Stands Out?

As a team, the Gamecocks slug .583 in wins and .366 in losses and reach base at a .469 clip in wins and just .329 in losses.
If Alaynie Page gets on base, South Carolina is successful. She holds a .521 on-base percentage in wins and a .273 mark in losses. The same could be said for Kristen Struett (.474 to .216) and Chelsea Hawkins (.462 to .308).
Audrey Broyles is 2.54 earned runs better (2.00 to 4.54) in wins than losses, while Katie Marks is 2.77 earned runs better in the same formula (2.36 to 5.13).

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 Missouri

The Tigers, ranked seventh in the NFCA/USA Today coaches poll, are 17-2 this season and 4-1 in their first year in the SEC.
Missouri is strong all around, ranking in the top 40 in six offensive categories, including third nationally in scoring, while also holding the 11th best ERA in NCAA Division I.
Coach Ehren Earleywine and his Tigers are 4-1 at University Field, but they have lost three home dates to inclement weather.
Chelsea Thomas leads the Tigers in the circle with a 0.75 ERA, second in the country, in 65 innings.
Thomas stands in the top 20 nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (9.4, 20th), walks allowed per seven innings (1.08, 17th) and hits allowed per seven innings (3.02, 3rd).
Bailey Erwin (2.33 ERA, 24 IP) and Nicole Hudson (3.00 ERA, 28 IP) back up Thomas.
Nicole Hudson powers the lineup, ranking in the top 50 nationally in eight categories, including third in slugging percentage (1.109) and fifth in on-base percentage (.597).
Emily Crane holds a .422 on-base percentage, third among regulars, while leading the way with seven stolen bases without being caught.
Kelsea Roth has a .975 slugging percentage while Angela Randazzo holds a .725 mark, both in 40 AB’s.
Hudson has nine homers and 24 RBI, and Roth has eight with 17. Randazzo is second on the team with 22 RBI.
Kayla Kingsley has stolen five bases in seven tries.

Where They Go Next on Career Charts

Four more runs move Samie Garcia into a tie with Jodi Fittro into 12th on the career charts.
Two doubles would tie Garcia for 19th with Kim Schultze and Shannon Gregg.
Her next triple ties Garcia for fifth with 12, linking her with former All-Americans Michelle Delloso and Kim Pietro.
A homer by Garcia would tie her for 12th all-time with 12, knotting Adrianna Baggetta and Jana Zimmerman.
Chelsea Hawkins’ next homer would tie her with Samantha Jennings and Tina Plew for eighth all-time with 15.
Two total bases for Garcia would bring her even with Amber Curtis in 13th (248).
Three hit-by-pitches to Garcia would tie her for third with Kaitlin Westfall and Jacqueline Wetherbee with 17.
Two stolen bases for Garcia would bring her even with Tricia Popowski, who ranks fifth in Gamecock annals with 43 stolen bases.
Audrey Broyles’ next win gives her 11th alone, breaking a tie with Kate Pouliot and Kim Sheridan.
Broyles’ next start knots her with Gretchen Koenig in sixth with 86 in her career.
Two more appearances by Broyles ties her for eighth with former All-American Darlene Lowery (101).
With 18 strikeouts, Broyles would tie Angie Lear for ninth in South Carolina history.