March 27, 2014
South Carolina Hosts Mississippi
Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field – Columbia, S.C.
Weekend’s Links (all times Eastern)
Fri., March 28, 6 PM
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Sat., March 29, 2 PM
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Sun., March 30, 1 PM
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South Carolina Team Notes
- The Gamecocks are 5-5 in one-run games this season, matching last year’s mark. They went 5-9 during those contests in 2012 and 7-11 in Smith’s first year of 2011.
- South Carolina’s 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.
- 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 26 of 31 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 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.
- 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 college veterans have come through with runners on third and less than two outs, as Ansley Ard, Dana Hathorn, Chelsea Hawkins, Olivia Lawrence, Ashlyn Masters, Sarah Mooney and Kristen Struett have posted 25 RBI in 36 chances. The rest of the team is 14-for-36.
- As a team, the .542 success rate of driving in a runner from third with less than two outs is fifth in the SEC.
- Junior Sarah Mooney, a transfer from James Madison, has a team-best eight homers on the year, tying for the sixth spot in the single-season charts at South Carolina 31 games into the year.
- All of South Carolina’s losses have come when they’ve given up four or more earned runs. In fact, of the 86 team earned runs allowed, 73 have come in the 12 losses.
- In the second game against Furman (3/25), the Gamecocks matched their run total in the second from the previous 30 games combined. South Carolina seemed allergic to offense in the second inning, hitting .212 with five runs in the frame before that Furman game.
Monumental Weekend for Gamecocks and Coach Smith vs. Texas A&M
- South Carolina won its first series over a ranked SEC opponent since 2009 with a doubleheader sweep of No. 13/15 Texas A&M on March 15.
- It also stands as the first SEC series win in Carolina Softball Stadium for the Gamecocks in five tries in the new facility.
- The second win on March 15 marked Beverly Smith’s 100th at South Carolina.
- The come-from-behind win in game one in the bottom of the seventh is the first since March 11, 2012 vs. Arkansas.
- Both games featured two-run, walk-off homers, Evan Childs with the one over the Hogs in 2012 and Ashlyn Masters with the shot against the Aggies.
- Entering the seventh tied, the Gamecocks won their first game in that scenario in 2014. Five times, South Carolina did that in 2013, with three in SEC play (at Mississippi State and at Auburn twice).
- Julie Sarratt earned SEC Pitcher of the Week honors for getting the win and the save during the doubleheader along with her win over Eastern Kentucky on March 11.
Snaer’s Leading The Middle of the Order
- Freshman Kaylea Snaer ranks as one of two Gamecocks to start all 31 games and is the only player to bat in each contest.
- She already has five homers, 26 RBI and 18 walks, all three halfway or better to the top 15 in a season at South Carolina.
- Snaer’s posted two or more hits nine times and multiple RBI in 10 games, the latter tops on the team.
- Twelve of Snaer’s 26 RBI have come with two outs.
The Joys of Playing at Home
- 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.
- Barring any rainouts, it would take two postseason games at home to tie the 2002 team’s record with 36 home games.
- The Gamecocks have already surpassed their 2013 home win total, going 14-3 this year compared to 7-10 in Carolina Softball Stadium a year ago.
- Out of those 17 home games, South Carolina has posted a shutout in nine of them. One loss even saw the Gamecocks throw a one-hitter (vs. No. 16/19 Minnesota, 3/19)
- In the 12 home dates, the Gamecocks have posted paid crowds over 1,000 in 10 of them.
Scouting Mississippi
- After falling at UT Martin on Tuesday, 3-2, the Rebels enter the weekend at 19-15.
- Last weekend, Ole Miss won its home series against Arkansas, scoring 31 runs in the three games.
- RT Cantillo leads the Rebel offense in seven categories including slugging percentage (.641) while standing second on the team with five stolen bases.
- Londen Ladner has a team-high five homers and 22 RBI.
- Jamie Morgan and Haley Culley have near identical batting averages over .300 and six sacrifice hits each.
- In the circle, Carly Hummel and Shelby Jo Fenter both have ERAs under 3.00 and opponent batting averages of .230 or lower.
- Hummel fans almost a batter an inning and has a 4:1 SO:BB ratio in 82.2 innings. She has allowed 12 homers and hit nine batters.
The Last Meeting
| South Carolina | 2 |
| Ole Miss | 3 |
May 6, 2012
University, Miss.
University, Miss.
Gamecocks Fall in Seventh to Ole Miss 3-2 to Close 2012 Season Twice South Carolina (23-32, 3-25 SEC) held leads, but Ole Miss (22-32, 7-21 SEC) tied it both times before coming through in the seventh to claim a 3-2 win in the 2012 season finale for both squads at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. |
Ties between South Carolina and Mississippi
- Gamecock freshman Kaylea Snaer followed behind four Rebels on the SoCal Athletics, Allison Brown, RT Cantillo, Carly Hummel and Marina Parra.
- Both Ashlyn Masters and Miranda Strother played with the Atlanta Vipers
- Two Houston Power alums play in the series: Gamecock Taylor Williams and Rebel Bri Payne.
- UM’s Emily Boyd and SC’s Effie Manahan both played for the Tennessee Fury before college.
Series History vs. the Rebels
- South Carolina has taken 24 of the 40 meetings all-time against Mississippi, including a 15-6 record in games at Beckham Field.
- The Gamecocks swept the last home series versus the Rebels in 2011.
The Last Series – South Carolina at Mississippi – May 4-6, 2012
- The Rebels swept the season-ending three-game series in Oxford by scores of 1-0, 6-3, and 3-2.
- Kristen Struett had hits in two of the games, while Dana Hathorn reached in all three outings.
The Pitchers Reign Supreme
- Both redshirt junior Julie Sarratt and freshman Nickie Blue have won weekly awards from the Southeastern Conference, Sarratt most recently being named pitcher of the week on March 17.
- 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 vs. Michigan State.
- When Blue pitches, she’s produced nearly double the ground-ball outs (125) versus fly outs (65).
- Blue has three saves, tying for 10th in a single season at South Carolina and one away from joining six others in a tie for fourth.
- Sarratt picked up SEC Pitcher of the Week honors on March 17 after going 2-0 with a save the week prior, which included a complete-game, nine strikeout win over No. 13/15 Texas A&M.
- Sarratt’s fanned 93 batters in 92 innings, a rate over two K’s better her career standard (4.56 K/7IP) entering the year.
- Sarratt struck out a career-high 10 in the win over Maryland, while she sat down nine in her complete-game victory over No. 13/15 Texas A&M, her best in an SEC game.
- She is at her best with two strikes against right-handed hitters, holding them to a .093 batting average (10-of-108) with 59 of her K’s in those circumstances.
- Sarratt already owns four saves on the year, tying for fourth at South Carolina in a single season. Her next save would tie her with Aleca Johnson in third in a single year.
- Both are better in relief (Sarratt 0.78 ERA, Blue 1.13) than starting (Sarratt 2.46, Blue 4.28). In fact, boths strikeout-to-walk ratio is 2.7:1 or better out of the bullpen.
- The group posted a 29-inning scoreless streak from the final game at Florida Atlantic till the final game of the Gamecock Invitational. UNC Wilmington posted a first-inning unearned run.
- Longer than that stretch was the Gamecock pitchers’ no-homer stand, from the 4th against Ohio through the end of the UNC Wilmington game, lasting 72 innings.
- As a team, the Gamecock pitchers have allowed 0.39 homers and 0.04 triples per game, which leads and ranks sixth in the league, respectively.
- The staff has given up only two runs in the fifth inning all year (30 innings).
History in the Making
- South Carolina has played 2,025 games in its softball history, going 1318-701-6 (.652) in its 41st season of sponsorship.
- With the season-opening 1-0 win over Iowa, the Gamecocks gained their 1,300th program victory.
- Head coach Beverly Smith claimed second alone on SC’s coaching wins list with a 9-1 (5) win in the first game of the doubleheader against Furman.
- She earlier took third 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.
The Road Gets Tougher
- The Gamecocks have scheduled 24 of their 55 regular-season games against teams who made the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
- South Carolina downed No. 3/3 Arizona State and is 3-10 against those teams so far in 2014.
- 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. Of those, 21 are against RPI top-50 teams.
- After facing nothing but NCAA Tournament participants in SEC 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 23 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.
In Wins and Losses, Who (and What) Stands Out?
- Gamecock pitching has a near 3:1 K:BB ratio in wins while it’s 0.85:1 in losses.
- Julie Sarratt has a 68:20 K:BB ratio in 57.1 innings in wins, and a 25:25 ratio in 34.2 innings in losses. Nickie Blue is in the same vicinity, 41:15 in wins and 16:17 in losses.
- The Gamecocks have drawn 64 walks and been hit 22 times in 19 wins and garnered 22 free passes and 9 HBPs in 12 losses.
- Catalysts in wins include Ashlyn Masters (.450 BA, 11 2B in W’s, .258 BA, 2 2B in L’s), Ansley Ard (.429 BA in W’s, .222 in L’s), Codee Yeske (.477 OBP in W’s, .300 in L’s), Chelsea Hawkins (.279 BA in W’s, .160 in L’s) and Kristen Struett (.341 OBP in W’s, .154 in L’s).
- As a team, the Gamecocks slug .511 in wins and .374 in losses and reach base at a .405 clip in wins and just .317 in losses.
- When the Gamecocks hit a homer, they are 16-4. If they amass more hits than the foe, they are 16-1. When holding opponents without a homer, South Carolina is 16-6.
- In 10 of the 12 losses, the Gamecocks have given up eight hits or more. Only twice have they won when allowing that many hits.
Some People Love Home Cooking; Others Shine on the Road
- Ashlyn Masters tends to like playing at home, posting a .449 batting average and a .796 slugging percentage in Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field against .310 and .452, respectively, away from home.
- Ansley Ard also hits better at home (.406 vs. .286) as well as Chelsea Hawkins (.273 vs. 200).
- Victoria Williams (.500 BA vs. .259) has done better on the road, along with Dana Hathorn (.313 vs. .182).
- Brooke Barnhill has scored eight runs in 13 appearances away from Columbia, while she’s scored only twice in 12 tries at home.
- Both of South Carolina’s primary pitchers have ERAs under 1.00 at home and over 4.00 outside of the SEC’s newest stadium.
- Helping those ERAs are the 100:28 K:BB ratio at home compared to a 61:64 mark away from Beckham Field.
