March 30, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A gritty comeback performance from South Carolina (22-12, 5-7 SEC) brought an SEC weekend sweep as the Gamecocks downed the Ole Miss Rebels 7-6 on Sunday afternoon at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
Freshman designated player Victoria Williams drew a leadoff walk to start the seventh, and her pinch runner, senior Brooke Barnhill, went to third when freshman first baseman Kaylea Snaer doubled into the left field corner. A fielder’s choice put junior catcher Sarah Mooney on base, loading them for senior second baseman Dana Hathorn. She drew her third walk of the week to force in the tying run. Senior centerfielder Chelsea Hawkins followed and also worked a walk on five pitches to end the game in favor of the Gamecocks.
A four-run fifth brought the Gamecocks to within one and set up the final stage of the comeback victory. The Masters sisters accounted for all four runs, first when senior Ashlyn doubled home the first run of the frame followed by the redshirt freshman Lauren plating two with a single to right. Lauren scored the final run of the frame on Snaer’s sacrifice fly to foul territory in left. Snaer’s foul was the first out of the frame, and the Gamecocks had a runner at second, but she got caught off the base on a grounder to third, and the Rebels tagged her for the second out. Another grounder to third ended the frame with Mississippi clinging to a one-run lead.
Ole Miss claimed a 1-0 lead on Londen Ladner’s RBI single up the middle with two on in the first. It stayed 1-0 thanks to Ashlyn Masters’ throw to the plate to nail the second Rebel runner that reached in the first. But in the third, Ladner made it a 4-0 Rebel advantage with her three-run blast over the centerfield wall on the ninth pitch of her at bat, scoring Haley Culley and Allison Brown after they started the inning with singles.
Snaer put South Carolina on the board with a towering solo homer to left in the fourth. But the Rebels posted two unearned runs in the fifth on a two-error play by the Gamecocks with two outs to hold a 6-1 advantage.
Freshman Nickie Blue (12-5) picked up the win in relief, tossing four innings and giving up two unearned runs on a hit and six walks. She only allowed one base runner in the last two innings to help the Gamecocks take the comeback win. Emily Gaitan (4-4) garnered the loss, giving up two earned runs on a hit and six walks in two-plus innings of work. She faced five batters in the seventh without recording an out.
Ashlyn Masters went 2-for-3 with two doubles, an intentional walk in the sixth, a run and an RBI. Snaer went 2-for-3 with the double, homer and two RBI. Five other Gamecocks got hits, including Hawkins adding a double, while five also took walks. Culley went 3-for-4 and scored a run, while Ladner had all four Rebel RBI in a 2-for-4 day that included a home run.
The Gamecocks get their first SEC weekend sweep at home since 2011, also against the Rebels. Masters’ two doubles puts her on South Carolina’s single-season listing, tying Sondra Hall and Joyce McMillin for 12th with 15 in a season.
South Carolina hosts a split doubleheader on Tuesday, facing Charleston Southern at 4:30 p.m. and Presbyterian at 7 p.m. at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
