Feb. 6, 2014

Gamecocks Host the 2014 Carolina Classic
Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field – Columbia, S.C.
Tournament Central

Iowa – Fri., Feb. 7, 4 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

Ohio – Sat., Feb. 8, 12:30 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

Presbyterian – Sat., Feb. 8, 3 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

UNC Greensboro – Sun., Feb. 9, 3 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

2014 SC Softball Notes – 2/6

2013 SC Softball Stats (Final)

South Carolina Team Notes

• The Gamecocks are looking for their 1,300 win in program history as they start their 41st season of intercollegiate action.
• The first game in Boca Raton, Fla., against LIU Brooklyn will mark the 2,000th game in South Carolina Softball history, barring any rainouts before that contest.
• Gamecock head coach Beverly Smith needs three wins to move into third for a coach in program history.
• She needs 17 triumphs to crack the century mark, and her 18th victory this year would put her in second in program history past Lou Piel.
• Smith is the third Gamecock head coach to coach a fourth season at South Carolina, joining Piel and NFCA Hall-of-Fame coach Joyce Compton.

Roster Notes

• South Carolina returns six position starters from last year’s team, including starters at second base (Dana Hathorn), in left (Alaynie Page) and in right field (Chelsea Hawkins). All 59 starts in center field and at designated player return as well as the majority of starts at first and third bases.
• In the loss of Samie Garcia, the Gamecocks lose their leader in batting average, runs, hits, doubles, triples, total bases, slugging percentage, sacrifice hits and stolen bases. She also was the only Gamecock with a start at shortstop on the roster.
• The greatest statistical losses come in triples (7 of 10) and sacrifice hits (9 of 19).
• In the rest of the offensive categories, the Gamecocks bring back from 70.7 percent (doubles) to 80 percent (home runs) of their production from 2013, a season where the Gamecocks set six team offensive records.
• Back is the 2013 team leader in on-base percentage (Dana Hathorn, .463), home runs (Chelsea Hawkins, 8), walks (Alaynie Page, 26) and hit by pitches (Dana Hathorn, 25).
• In the circle, the team loses almost 60 percent of the innings and strikeouts from a year ago but returns team ERA, IP, K and win leader Julie Sarratt.
• Nine newcomers join the roster, including eight freshmen and the transferring Sarah Mooney, who earned Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year honors at James Madison.
• The team is again dominated by South Carolina natives, with 36.4 percent of the roster (eight players) hailing from the Palmetto State. Georgia is second with three players.
• The Gamecocks hail from 10 states this year, adding players from North Carolina, Colorado, Illinois, California, Texas and Virginia.

More on the Newest Gamecocks

• With nine new student-athletes, South Carolina retooled after losing seven players, four to graduation and three to transfers.
• Three of the incoming eight freshmen have been honored by MaxPreps.com on their High School All-America teams, including two on its small school listings.
• Kaylea Snaer earned second-team accolades in the country, while, on the small school lists were Taylor Williams (first team) and Victoria Williams (second team).
• The Williams and Snaer join Alaynie Page as Gamecocks who earned those honors. Page made the Junior All-America list earlier at Boiling Springs High School.
• The eight freshmen all represent different states: California (Snaer), Colorado (Nickie Blue), Georgia (Effie Manahan), Illinois (Kate Shereyk), North Carolina (Macey Webb), South Carolina (V. Williams), Texas (T. Williams), and Virginia (Mackenzie Moler).
• Blue is the first Gamecock to be listed over 6-0 since Melanie Henkes (6-3) in 2006.
• The lone transfer this year, Sarah Mooney, earned 2013 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year accolades.
• Leading the Dukes in eight offensive categories, Mooney won the CAA triple crown and set new program records with 17 homers and 67 RBI in 59 games.
• Mooney moves closer to home in two aspects, hailing from the greater Charlotte area but also likely to serve as the Gamecocks’ starting catcher.

Family Ties

• The Masters sisters Ashlyn and Lauren are the first siblings to play on the same Gamecock team and the second set ever in the program’s recorded history, after the Troesh sisters, Leanna (1997-99) and Debralee (2000-03).
• Chelsea Hawkins is the niece of Tia Rogers (2002-04 letter-winner).
• While both Williams, freshmen Taylor and Victoria are not sisters.

Gamecocks Added to Their Rich History in NCAA Tournament

• South Carolina made its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the first since 2007.
• The Gamecocks are 31-29 in those trips, making three Women’s College World Series in their history (1983, 1989 and 1997).
• Four times, South Carolina has won a regional.
• The Gamecocks made their seventh regional final (in multi-team regionals) in 14 appearances. The regionals in 1982-83 were best-of-three series against one opponent.

2013 Stands Alone in Offensive Records

• South Carolina set six cumulative team offensive records in 2013 and five in the per-game categories.
• Overall, the 338 runs, 45 homers, 295 RBI, 60 hit by pitches, .384 on-base percentage and .450 slugging percentage all topped previous marks.
• In per-game comparisons, the 5.73 runs, 5.00 RBI, 12.17 total bases, 2.78 walks and 1.02 hit by pitches broke records.
• Dana Hathorn got hit 25 times, more than tripling the previous season record.

The Joys of Playing at Home and Other Schedule Notes

• After playing only 17 games at its home facility last season, tying the second-lowest mark in the SEC era (since 1997), South Carolina has scheduled 34 games for Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field before hosting the 2014 SEC Softball Tournament.
• It would take no rainouts and two postseason games at home to tie the 2002 team’s record with 36 home games in a year.
• The Gamecocks have scheduled 24 of their 55 regular-season games against teams who made the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
• After facing nothing but NCAA Tournament participants in conference play last year, South Carolina has two conference weekends against non-tourney teams this year (home vs. Mississippi & Auburn).
• Two of the Gamecocks’ SEC contests will be on television, including the opening game to ESPN’s national coverage (March 22 at Tennessee on ESPNU).
• The Gamecocks’ April 19 game against LSU will also be on ESPNU, while all nine games of the SEC Softball Tournament will be on the ESPN family of networks.

How the Gamecocks Made the 2013 SEC Tournament and About the Win

• The Gamecocks won their first SEC Tournament game since 2003 with a 6-3 win over seventh-seeded and host Kentucky in the first round.
• It was South Carolina’s first SEC Tourney win since May 9, 2003 over Mississippi State.
• It took a win over No. 2/3 Florida, the first win over the Gators since 2003, ending a 28-game losing streak, to secure the berth, the first in Beverly Smith’s head coaching career.
• South Carolina swept its first SEC series of the year at Mississippi State, marking the first road three-game SEC sweep for the Gamecocks since doing it at Kentucky over March 29-30, 2008.
• It’s the first three-game sweep in Starkville in history for South Carolina.
• The Gamecocks won their first SEC series of 2013 at Auburn, the first winning weekend in any SEC road series since the 2011 Arkansas win (4/16-17).

Returning Gamecock Hitters in SC’s Top-15 Career Charts

• Dana Hathorn would have broken the career hit-by-pitch record with just this season’s 25. She’s now at 34.
• Hathorn is eighth in on-base percentage (.383) and 14th in batting average (.307). In per-game stats, she’s 10th in RBI (0.49), 12th in runs (0.51), 13th in hits (0.99) and 14th in stolen bases (0.13).
• Chelsea Hawkins is eighth in career slugging percentage (.481) and homers (16). In per-game stats, Hawkins is second in homers (0.12), 11th in RBI (0.48) and 13th in doubles (0.16).

The Single-Season Charts Saw Many Changes

• Dana Hathorn more than tripled the single-season hit-by-pitch mark, getting plunked 25 times in 59 games. She also posted the fifth-best on-base percentage in a year (.463).
• Chelsea Hawkins made it a five-way tie for sixth place with eight homers and tied Danielle Quinones for sixth in homers per game (0.14). She also tied for 13th with three sacrifice flies.
• Kristen Struett tied for fifth with 43 RBI in a season and stood fifth with 0.78 RBI per game.
• Alaynie Page finished 10th in runs per game (0.78), 11th in homers (7), 13th in walks (26) and walks per game (0.44) and tied for third in hit by pitches (7).
• Ashlyn Masters has four sacrifice flies, tying for seventh with six others.
• Pitcher Julie Sarratt made the single-season relief appearances chart (13, T-13th), and tied for seventh with 12 hit batters.

Scouting Iowa

• The Hawkeyes went 30-24 in 2013, but just 8-15 in the Big Ten to finish tied for ninth overall.
• Iowa finished 39th in the final NCAA RPI report of 2013, two spots behind the Gamecocks.
• Six position starters and the team’s pitching ace returns for head coach Marla Looper’s group.
• The top returning hitter, junior infielder Megan Blank, earned first-team All-Big Ten honors last year, leading the Hawkeyes in nine offensive categories.
• Lost was second-team honoree Johnnie Dowling, who was the top speed threat wtih 20 stolen bases in 21 tries who also scored a team-best 46 runs.
• Kayla Massey returns as a dual threat, posting the second-most homers, RBI and slugging on the team last year.
• She also tossed nearly 200 of the team’s 356.1 innings, boasting a 3.09 ERA with 106 strikeouts against 96 walks.
• Massey also gained the Big Ten All-Defensive Team spot for a pitcher.

Ties between South Carolina and Iowa

• Iowa assistant coach Adrianna Baggetta played and coached at South Carolina from 1998-2010 before taking on her current role for the Hawkeyes.
• The same SoCal Athletics travel-ball group produced Iowa senior Kayla Massey and South Carolina freshman Kaylea Snaer.

Series History vs. the Hawkeyes

• South Carolina owns a 3-2 advantage in the series against the Hawkeyes, with all five games previously coming on neutral ground.

The Last Time – Iowa vs. South Carolina – March 6, 1999

• The last meeting came at the 1999 USF/Speedline Tournament in Tampa, Fla., where the Gamecocks won a 3-2 contest. Adrianna Baggetta was a freshman for that South Carolina team.

Scouting Ohio

• The Bobcats went 28-29 last year for coach Jodi Hermanek, finishing tied for sixth overall in the Mid-American Conference.
• Ohio lost its top hitter, first-team All-MAC selection Lauren Gellerman, but returns seven other position starters plus all but 1.1 innings of work in the circle.
• Redshirt senior Chelsea Hortman, a second-team All-MAC pick, only played in 42 games but ranks as the top returner at the plate.
• Senior Raven King also comes back after finishing second on the team with a .425 on-base percentage.
• Two (sophomore Amanda Dalton and senior Alyssa Wolfe) of the top three base stealers return.
• A powerful lineup a year ago, 48 of the 80 homers hit last year departed the team, including the top-two threats, Gellerman and Caitlin Colvin.
• Pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey, a MAC All-Freshman Team selection in 2013, returns as the ace, fanning 184 batters (against 93 walks) in 177.1 innings of work.
• Dorsey went 14-9 on the year with a 3.39 ERA.
• Also back is the second pitcher, junior Lauren McClary, who posted a 4.20 ERA in 151.2 innings of work.
• Foes hit .261 off of McClary and hit 22 homers, while opponents hit .238 against Dorsey with 12 blasts.

Ties between South Carolina and Ohio

• Former Georgia Bulldog teammates Laura Trout (SC’s volunteer assistant) and Taylor Schlopy (Ohio assistant coach) will be in the same park again.

Series History vs. the Bobcats

• The Gamecocks hold a 6-0 record all-time against Ohio, including a 4-0 mark at home, the last game here though coming in 1990.

The Last Time – Ohio vs. South Carolina – March 1, 2002

• In the Plant City Tournament in 2002, the Gamecocks downed Ohio 9-1 in five innings.
• Amber Curtis hit a three-run homer in the third to help South Carolina to the shortened victory.

Scouting Presbyterian

• The Blue Hose, under head coach Kama Tucker, went 22-31 last year, including a 7-16 Big South record.
• Presbyterian returns one All-Freshman Team member (Erin Ruff) while losing its second-team All-Big South selection Cat Tarvin.
• Ruff led the team with a .415 on-base percentage, while Shelby Petik, a junior this season, topped the team in homers, RBI and slugging percentage.
• Junior Jill McLean also returns after leading the team in batting average and stolen bases.
• Two other offensive starters along with Tarvin left in Tera Powell and Morgan Durham.
• Junior Kensley Loudermelk returns as the ace in the circle, tossing 152.2 innings last season.
• She fanned 99 and walked 73 en route to a 12-15 mark with a 4.68 ERA.
• Also back are sophomore Sydney Seigler (4.67 ERA, 60 IP) and sophomore Kelsey Barnette (5.48 ERA, 52.1 IP).

Ties between South Carolina and Presbyterian

• Both teams sport eight South Carolina natives, including Spartanburg Methodist grads Brooke Barnhill (Gamecocks) and Alexa Ritchie (Presbyterian).
• Blue Hose junior Erin Taylor served as a manager in the fall of her freshman year before transferring to Clinton to play at Presbyterian.

Series History vs. the Blue Hose

• The Gamecocks have taken the previous two meetings against the Blue Hose, with last year’s 10-5 win coming at the Pine Grove Complex in West Columbia.

The Last Time – Presbyterian vs. South Carolina – April 16, 2013

• Behind redshirt senior Kelley Dillon’s 3-for-4, 3 RBI game, the Gamecocks beat Presbyterian 10-5.
• Julie Sarratt got the win in relief, tossing 1.1 innings of scoreless softball.

Scouting UNC Greensboro

• Under head coach Janelle Breneman, the Spartans went 38-19 in 2013 and made the Southern Conference Tournament championship game.
• SoCon Freshman of the Year Lindsay Thomas returns after leading the Spartans in seven offensive categories.
• Also returning for UNCG is first-team All-SoCon designated player Katelyn Bedwell, who topped the team in RBI and hits last season.
• Six Spartans made the All-SoCon second team, including outfield returners Tatiana Alcala and Allison Geiner and pitcher Raeanne Hanks.
• In all, six offensive starters are back, including the speed of Alcala (14-19 SB).
• The Spartans did lose top base stealer Aisha Figueroa, who swiped 22 bags in 2013.
• The ace Hanks is back after posting a 2.34 ERA in 191.1 innings, fanning 176 and walking 99.
• Third pitcher Nicole Thomas also helps in the circle, tallying a 3.29 ERA in 49 innings of work.

Ties between South Carolina and UNC Greensboro

• Former Gamecock assistant Janelle Breneman returns to Columbia. She spent two years on Beverly Smith’s staff.
• Also on staff for the Spartans is a former player for Smith and Breneman at North Carolina, Brittany McKinney.

Series History vs. the Spartans

• South Carolina has won six of seven against the Spartans, including all six contests in Columbia.

The Last Time – UNC Greensboro vs. South Carolina – Feb. 6, 2005

• South Carolina won 8-0 in six innings in the season-opening Gamecock Invitational.
• McKenna Hughes drove in four runs, including a three-run double in the sixth.
• Melanie Henkes tossed a two-hitter, walking one and struck out six in the shutout win.