March 6, 2014
South Carolina at No. 11/11 Alabama
Rhoads Stadium – Tuscaloosa, Ala.
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South Carolina Team Notes
- The Gamecocks’ 3-2 win at No. 3/3 Arizona State marked the first win at a top-five team’s park since March 13, 2004, a 6-4 win in nine innings at LSU.
- This year’s 14-2 start is bettered only by a 12-1 mark by the 2009 team in the last six years of Gamecock Softball. The 2007 Gamecocks went 24-3, the best start since the first year of SEC play.
- The four double plays in the Florida Atlantic win (2/16) is believed to be a school record, as it matches what was once listed but could not be verified.
- After posting only eight hits combined in the first two games, South Carolina tallied at least eight in each the next seven. Overall, the Gamecocks have five or more hits in 16 games.
- In the Ball State loss, South Carolina snapped a streak of 11 games with one or no errors, a stretch that included a 10-game winning streak.
- The Gamecock leadoff hitters have reached base at a .473 clip, third best in the SEC.
- While no Gamecocks rank in the SEC standings in stolen bases, six different student-athletes have three or more on the year.
- The Gamecocks’ win in game one against Western Carolina came when they were down after five innings, the first South Carolina triumph coming back that late in a game this season.
- All of South Carolina’s losses have come when they’ve given up five or more earned runs. In fact, of the 34 team earned runs allowed, 24 have come in the four losses.
Roller Coaster Ride in Tempe
- South Carolina picked up its second win in history in the home park of a top-five team when it downed No. 3/3 Arizona State 3-2 to open its stay in the ASU Louisville Slugger Invitational.
- Senior Chelsea Hawkins accounted for every Gamecock run, hitting a two-run homer for the initial lead and scoring the insurance run in the seventh after leading off the inning with a double.
- Hawkins went 3-for-3 in the win with a homer, double, two RBI and two runs scored. The seven total bases is the most for a Gamecock this year.
- Freshman Nickie Blue tossed 101 pitches, the most in her budding college career, in the complete-game win. It’s her second complete game as a Gamecock.
- Blue matched her career high by striking out five Sun Devils in the win.
- Over night, however, the team was swept by a virus that kept two players from the field on Friday and weakened many others. Ten student-athletes were treated for similar symptons during the trip.
- It still took allowing 11 and 10 runs to fall to No. 19/20 Minnesota and Ball State, respectively.
- The Gamecocks, after falling down 7-0 to Minnesota, cut the lead to 7-4 after five innings.
- In the Ball State contest, South Carolina scored seven in the sixth before succumbing to the Cardinals, who scored three in the bottom half of the sixth and two more in the final frame.
- Three Gamecocks homered in the contest: junior Sarah Mooney, sophomore Jordan Bizzell and redshirt freshman Lauren Masters.
- In the two losses, South Carolina allowed seven earned runs in each. The team had been charged with 19 in the previous 16 games combined.
- At Arizona State, senior Chelsea Hawkins, sophomore Jordan Bizzell and redshirt freshman Lauren Masters all hit their first homers of the year. It was the first career homer for Bizzell and Masters.
Individual Notables
- Nickie Blue earned her first SEC Freshman of the Week honor on Feb. 24 after picking up a win and two saves in relief as well as her first career shutout during the prior week.
- Junior Sarah Mooney, a transfer from James Madison, has a team-best six homers on the year, one away from tying for a spot in the single-season charts at South Carolina just 18 games into the year.
- The college veterans have come through with runners on third and less than two outs, as Dana Hathorn, Chelsea Hawkins, Ashlyn Masters and Sarah Mooney have posted 15 RBI in 20 chances.
- To add to that, sophomores Ansley Ard and Jordan Bizzell are both 2-for-2 bringing in runners from third with less than two outs. The rest of the team is 8-for-28.
The Pitchers Reign Supreme
- The group posted a 29-inning scoreless streak from the final game at Florida Atlantic through the final game of the Gamecock Invitational, with the UNC Wilmington posting an unearned run in the first inning.
- Freshman Nickie Blue is 9-2 on the season, starting nine of her 16 appearances.
- When Blue pitches, she’s produced nearly double the ground-ball outs (78) versus fly outs (41).
- Redshirt junior Julie Sarratt already owns three saves on the year, tying for ninth at South Carolina in a single season. Her next would move her into fourth with five others.
- Sarratt’s fanned 62 batters in 50.2 innings, a rate (8.57 K/7IP) almost double her career standard (4.56) entering the year.
- Sarratt struck out a career-high 10 in the win over Maryland.
- She is at her best with two strikes against right-handed hitters, holding them to a .049 batting average (3-of-61) with 40 of her K’s in those counts.
The Road Gets Tougher
- The Gamecocks have scheduled 24 of their 55 regular-season games against teams who made the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Next up is Alabama, who earned an at-large bid.
- South Carolina downed No. 3/3 Arizona State before falling to No. 19/20 Minnesota in its first two encounters against 2013 NCAA Tournament teams.
- A total of 35 of the Gamecocks’ scheduled games come against teams that finished in the top 100 of the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index last year. Twenty-one of those are against RPI top-50 teams.
- 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.
The Last Meeting
| Alabama | 7 |
| South Carolina | 6 |
March 17, 2013
Columbia, S.C.
Columbia, S.C.
| Gamecocks’ Comeback Bid Falls Short in 7-6 Loss to No. 4/6 Alabama A furious comeback attempt fell one run shy as South Carolina (16-9, 0-3 SEC) dropped a 7-6 contest to No. 4/6 Alabama (26-3, 4-3 SEC) on Sunday afternoon in front of 830 fans at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. |
Scouting Alabama
- The Crimson Tide enter the week with a 17-4 record, with three of their losses coming to ranked teams (Arizona twice, Florida State once).
- Sophomore Haylie McCleney leads Alabama’s offense in 12 categories, both in traditional leadoff hitter ones (30 runs, 21 walks, 13-of-14 stolen bases) and power (6 doubles, 5 homers, 21 RBI).
- Helping her in the power department are senior Kaila Hunt and junior Danae Hays with five home runs each.
- Hays has fanned 10 times but has reached extra bases in seven of her 11 hits this year.
- Sophomore Kallie Case has brought speed, going 7-of-8 in stolen base attempts.
- Sophomore Leona Lafaele has fanned a team-high 12 times.
- Junior Leslie Jury has been the most-used pitcher, tossing 56.1 innings with a 1.74 ERA.
- She’s struck out 49 but walked 31 in her 11 appearances.
- Returning ace and senior Jackie Traina has a 1.92 ERA in 47.1 innings, fanning 61 and walking 21.
- Freshman Sydney Littlejohn has a 2.13 ERA in 26.1 innings, striking out 25 while walking 10.
Ties between South Carolina and Alabama
- Tide senior Molly Fitchner and Gamecock freshman Taylor Williams are products of the Houston Power travel-ball team.
- Playing on the same Greenbrier HS and Atlanta Vipers teams were Alabama senior Kaila Hunt and SC’s senior Ashlyn Masters. Gamecock redshirt freshman Lauren Masters also played at Greenbrier.
Series History vs. the Crimson Tide
- Alabama leads the all-time series 35-16, including an 18-4 advantage in Tuscaloosa.
- South Carolina’s last win in what is now known as Rhoads Stadium came on April 17, 2004.
The Last Series – Alabama at South Carolina – March 15-17, 2013
- Alabama swept the first series in history at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field in 6-4, 5-3 and 7-6 scores.
- A seventh-inning comeback clinched game 1 for the Tide on a Haylie McCleney two-run triple. Dana Hathorn went 2-for-3 for the Gamecocks.
- Jackie Traina’s three-run, sixth-inning homer on Saturday helped Alabama to a 5-3 win. Alaynie Page hit a two-run homer in the contest off Leslie Jury to give South Carolina a 3-1 lead.
- Alabama held on for a 7-6 win on Sunday when Kayla Braud went 3-for-5 with three RBI. Gamecock Chelsea Hawkins hit a home run in the sixth off Traina to start South Carolina’s comeback attempt.
Gamecocks vs. Ranked Opponents
- South Carolina is 95-227-1 (.296) all-time against ranked opponents.
- Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 41-73 (.360) at home, 16-100 (.138) on the road and 38-54-1 (.414) in neutral-site outings.
- Last season, the Gamecocks went 3-16 (.158) against ranked foes, including a 2-7 mark when playing in the opponent’s home park and a 1-8 record at home.
- With the 3-2 win at No. 3/3 Arizona State on Feb. 27, South Carolina is now 2-21 against top-five opposition on the road.
Snaer’s Early Start
- Freshman Kaylea Snaer leads the Gamecocks in six offensive categories over a quarter of the way through the season.
- She already has three homers, almost halfway to the top-15 in a season at South Carolina.
- She’s also a third of the way to single-season listings on the Gamecocks’ doubles (5), RBI (16) and walks (8).
- Snaer’s posted two or more hits seven times and multiple RBI in six games, both tops on the team.
- Snaer has only failed to reach base four times this season (vs. Boston University, 2/21; vs. Western Carolina-2, 2/25; at No. 3/3 Arizona State 2/27; vs. Ball State 2/28).
- Six of Snaer’s 16 RBI have come with two outs.
History in the Making
- South Carolina has played 2,012 games in its softball history, going 1313-693-6 (.654) in its 41st season of sponsorship.
- With the season-opening 1-0 win over Iowa, the Gamecocks gained their 1,300th program victory.
- Gamecock head coach Beverly Smith needs three more triumphs to crack the century mark, and her 18th victory this year would put her in second in program history past Lou Piel.
- Smith moved into third on SC’s coaching wins list with the 13-0 (5) victory vs. UNC Greensboro.
- She is the third Gamecock head coach to coach a fourth season at South Carolina, joining Piel and NFCA Hall-of-Fame coach Joyce Compton.
Gamecocks Added to Their Rich History in NCAA Tournament
- South Carolina made its 16th appearance in the 2013 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).
- The program has five AIAW World Series trips in its history as well prior to 1982.
- 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.
