Gamecock Defense Great in 8-1 Win at Florida Atlantic
Feb. 16, 2014
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Turning a school-record four double plays, South Carolina (6-2) captured an 8-1 win over Florida Atlantic (5-5) on Sunday afternoon at FAU Softball Stadium to close the Gamecocks’ stay in the FAU Strike Out Cancer Tournament.
Offensively, the Gamecocks had two-hit games from juniors Sarah Mooney and Kristen Struett as well as freshman Victoria Williams. Mooney hit a solo homer, while Struett and Williams both had doubles. Williams drove in three runs, and Struett scored twice.
South Carolina scored in the third to take the advantage. Struett got a one-out single and promptly stole second, setting up senior shortstop Codee Yeske’s RBI single. A two-run fourth moved the Gamecocks’ lead to 3-0. Consecutive singles by freshman first baseman Kaylea Snaer and Mooney set up the scoring, with two runners in scoring position after freshman pinch runner Kate Shereyk stole second. Senior second baseman Dana Hathorn brought home the first run with a ground out, and Williams put a single inside the third-base bag to plate Shereyk.
Florida Atlantic got on the board in the fourth on the second of the Gamecocks’ double plays. With one down and the bases loaded, Mickey Bell grounded one to third base, scoring Shelby Knox. Freshman Taylor Williams stepped on third to get the second out of the inning and threw to first. The first-base runner Delaney Rickey got to third on the play but thought she was on the same bag as her teammate forced off earlier, so she went back toward second, getting into a rundown. Hathorn tagged her to end the inning.
Mooney hit a solo homer in the sixth to make it 4-1, and four more runs crossed in the seventh. One error let Struett score after she started the inning with a double. Another error plated sophomore left fielder Ansley Ard, and Williams drove home the final two runs with a double to left.
The Gamecock defense played solidly all game, not committing an error with big plays coming in the first six innings. Yeske started with a traditional grounder double play in the first, while outfield assists from the centerfielder Struett and right fielder Hawkins to home ended the second and third, respectively. The double play in the fourth was followed by a strikeout-caught stealing double play in the fifth, with the catcher Mooney gunning down the runner. Yeske started another double play in the sixth, with Hathorn making the relay to first.
Freshman starter Nickie Blue (5-1) scattered seven hits and two walks with one earned run in four innings in the victory. Redshirt junior Julie Sarratt garnered her third save with three scoreless innings of relief, striking out two. Samantha Messer (2-1) took the loss, giving up three earned runs on four hits in three-plus innings. She struck out two.
South Carolina plays next at Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon at 4 before hosting the Gamecock Invitational Feb. 21-23 at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
