UPDATE: Fri. Softball vs. LSU Starting at 3 PM

April 17, 2014

The Dugout Club – Alaynie Page

With rain forecasted to hit the South Carolina Midlands on Friday evening, the Gamecocks and LSU Tigers will play at 3 p.m. on Friday afternoon instead of the previously scheduled 7 p.m. start.

South Carolina hosts LSU
Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field – Columbia, S.C.

Weekend’s Links (all times Eastern)
Fri., April 18, 3 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

Sat., April 19, 4 PM (ESPNU)
Live Audio | ESPN3/WatchESPN | | @GamecockSoftbll

Sun., April 20, 1 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

2014 SC Softball Notes – 4/17

2014 SC Softball Stats – 4/15

Carolina State of Mind Social Media Promotion
What does “Carolina State of Mind” mean to you? Show us in our photo contest! Follow and tag us in your photos on either Twitter (@GamecockSoftbll) or Instagram (@GamecockSoftball). The top three pictures will be displayed on the video board during the April 23 game against S.C. State. The top three picture winners will also have the opportunity to be on the field during pre-game and the winner will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

South Carolina Team Notes

The Gamecocks are 7-6 in one-run games this season, two wins better than last year’s 5-5. They went 5-9 during those contests in 2012 and 7-11 in Smith’s first year of 2011.
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 36 of 44 games.
As a team, the Gamecocks have scored 57.1 percent of runners from third with less than two outs, standing fourth in the SEC.
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, Kristen Struett and Codee Yeske have posted 36 RBI in 56 chances. The rest of the team is 20-for-42.
The Gamecocks have left the second-least runners on base in the SEC this season at 254.
Sarah Mooney, a junior transfer from James Madison, has nine home runs on the season, tying for fourth in Gamecock history.
And freshman Kaylea Snaer is one in back of Mooney with eight round-trippers, tying for seventh on the single-season charts.
All but one of South Carolina’s losses have come when they’ve given up four or more earned runs. In fact, of the 123 team earned runs allowed, 87 have come in the 14 losses.
The one loss without four earned runs allowed for the Gamecocks came in the first game at Arkansas, where five errors led to 10 unearned Arkansas runs in the 11-10 setback.
In the first 30 games, South Carolina scored five runs combined in the second inning. Over the last 14, the team has plated 21, including five in the second game of the Furman doubleheader.

Notables from Earlier

For the second-consecutive season, South Carolina claimed at least one SEC road series, taking two of three at Arkansas over April 11-13.
The Gamecocks won their first game at Georgia since March 28, 2001 in the first game of the April 5 doubleheader.
It’s the team’s second win at the home of a ranked team in 2014, joining the 3-2 victory at No. 3/3 Arizona State.
South Carolina’s 3-2 win at No. 3/3 Arizona State marked the first win (and second all-time) at a top-five team’s park since March 13, 2004, a 6-4 win in nine innings at LSU.
South Carolina swept Mississippi at home over March 29-30, the first SEC home series sweep since the Rebels’ last visit in 2011.
The Sunday win over Ole Miss, which came by scoring two runs in its final at bat, ranks as the first this season for SC when it enters the seventh trailing.
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.
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.
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.

Pivotal Weekend for South Carolina’s Postseason Hopes

The Gamecocks enter the LSU weekend at 8-10 in the SEC standings, eighth out of 13 teams.
South Carolina last had eight or more wins at the 18-game mark in league play in 2007, a season when the team got to 10-10 and won 12 games in the SEC overall.
South Carolina’s final two series come against teams below them in the standings in LSU and Auburn, both at 6-9 currently.
Winning one of the series would help cement that the Gamecocks would play in the 2014 SEC Tournament that they host at Carolina Softball Stadium.
One of three teams with 18 games played entering this weekend, the Gamecocks will get to 21 along with Texas A&M before getting April’s final weekend off from SEC play.
The Aggies are one game ahead of the Gamecocks in the standings, but SC holds the tiebreaker by virtue of winning the series in Columbia.
To avoid Wednesday of the 2014 SEC Tournament, hosted at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field, South Carolina would have to pass both Texas A&M and one other team.

Bring on (or Back) the Doubleheaders in SEC Play

Three times already in 2014 have the Gamecocks had to play Saturday doubleheaders to ensure completing all three games of a series.
South Carolina is 5-1 in those games, sweeping twinbills from Texas A&M and Mississippi at home before splitting the double dip at No. 15/17 Georgia.
Friday nights have been unkind, with the Gamecocks dropping all five of the games played on the final day of the work week in SEC play.

The Road Is Rough, Especially Against These SEC Foes

South Carolina dropped eight of its first nine road contests in SEC play in 2014.
Those eight losses have come against the No. 1, 3 and 4 ranked pitching staffs in ERA and 1, 2 and 4 offenses by batting average in the SEC stat rankings for league games only.
In SEC play, Alabama holds the league’s best mark with a 2.08 ERA, while Tennessee ranks 3rd at 3.07 and Georgia 4th at 3.41.
In SEC action, the Lady Vols tops the league with a .343 batting average (as well as a .462 on-base percentage and .563 slugging percentage), while Alabama is 2nd at .328 and Georgia 4th at .275.

A New Tradition: Masters Leading the Offense

Senior Ashlyn Masters leads the Gamecocks in 10 offensive categories.
She took over the leadoff spot in the middle of February. And she’s blossomed in those 36 games, scoring 31 runs, more than any player’s total this year, and tallying 22 of her 23 extra-base hits.
She earned South Carolina’s first SEC Player of the Week nod (on March 31) since 2005 with her performances against Furman and Mississippi.
Her 17 doubles, second in the SEC, already is tied for fourth at South Carolina in a season, and her slash stats all rank in the top 10 as well.
She’s now in the Gamecocks’ career top-15 in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
She currently sits atop the career doubles-per-game list (0.25) and needs two RBI and 11 hits to qualify for those per-game top 15s.
With multiple hits in 14 games, she leads the team.
She’s hitting .444 when playing a defensive position compared to .161 in 14 games as a designated/offensive player.

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 tripled their 2013 home win total, going 21-3 this year compared to 7-10 in Carolina Softball Stadium a year ago.
Out of those 24 home games, South Carolina has posted a shutout in 11 of them. One loss even saw the Gamecocks throw a one-hitter (vs. No. 16/19 Minnesota, 3/19)
In the 17 home dates, the Gamecocks have posted paid crowds over 1,000 in 13 of them.

Some People Love Home Cooking; Others Shine on the Road

Ashlyn Masters tends to like playing at home, posting a .463 batting average and a .806 slugging percentage in Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field against .286 and .444, respectively, away from home.
Ansley Ard also hits better at home (.415 BA vs. .207).
Dana Hathorn has done much better on the road than at home (.286 BA vs. .167), and so has Victoria Williams (.481 OBP vs. .364).
Brooke Barnhill has scored nine runs in 17 appearances away from Columbia, while she’s scored only four times in 16 home playing chances.
Both of South Carolina’s primary pitchers have ERAs under 1.65 at home and over 4.25 outside of the SEC’s newest stadium.
Helping those ERAs are the 138:47 K:BB ratio at home compared to a 79:88 mark away from Beckham Field.

The Schedule Has Been Tough

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 5-13 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.
Entering the LSU weekend, South Carolina is 4-11 against RPI top-50 squads. Both the Tigers of LSU and Auburn are in the top 25 in the RPI.
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 national 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.

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 has five saves, tied for third in a single season at South Carolina and Sarratt four, tied for fifth.
Both are better in relief (Sarratt 1.12 ERA, Blue 1.26) than starting (Sarratt 3.04, Blue 3.86).
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 an unearned first-inning run to snap it.
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 0.50 homers, 0.05 triples and 0.76 doubles per game, which stand third, third and sixth in the league, respectively.
The staff has given up only 15 runs in the fifth inning all year (41.1 innings). Six of those came in the series at No. 15/17 Georgia.

Blue’s Been Best in Big Games

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 vs. Michigan State.
Blue has two marquee wins on the season, both complete-game victories at ranked opponents in the 3-2 victory at No. 3/3 Arizona State and the 1-0 triumph at No. 15/17 Georgia.
Against the Bulldogs, Blue struck out a career-best seven and held UGA to its lowest hit total of the season to date, allowing only three.
When Blue pitches, she’s produced nearly double the ground-ball outs (181) versus fly outs (96).

Savvy Veteran Sarratt Striking Down Foes

Julie 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 120 batters in 131 innings, a rate (6.41 K/7IP) almost 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 .152 batting average (24-of-158) with 78 of her K’s in those circumstances.

Snaer Drives The Middle of the Order

Freshman Kaylea Snaer ranks as the only Gamecock to start all 44 games.
She already has eight homers (T-6th) and 28 walks (T-7th), both in SC’s top 10 in a season.
Her 35 RBI are four shy of a spot on the single-season charts, and she’s five doubles away from a listing as well.
In SEC play, she’s been stellar. Of her 13 hits, nine have gone for extra bases (4 2B, 5 HR). Those nine extra-base hits are 1/5 of the team’s output in SEC play this season.
Snaer’s posted two or more hits 11 times and multiple RBI in 12 games, the latter tops on the team.
Eighteen of Snaer’s 35 RBI have come with two outs.

Scouting LSU

The Tigers split a doubleheader on Wednesday at Hofstra to put their record at 25-19 entering this weekend’s series.
At 6-9 in SEC play, the Tigers are tied for ninth in the SEC standings with Auburn, one game ahead of 11th-place Mississippi State.
LSU has a team batting average of .301, eighth in the league. Four players boast of averages over .300.
Four also have slugging percentages over .525, all with seven or more home runs.
Speed is a bigger part of the Tigers’ game, led by junior A.J. Andrews’ 25 stolen bases. She tops the team with a .359 batting average and four triples. Andrews reaches base at a .464 clip in SEC play.
Redshirt senior Allison Falcon also has four triples to go with 7 home runs and a team-best .590 slugging percentage.
Freshman Sahvanna Jaquish tops LSU with 9 homers and 31 RBI, with four of those blast coming in SEC play.
Sophomore Bianka Bell has eight doubles and seven homers while posting a team-high .444 on-base percentage.
In the circle, the Tigers have allowed 188 walks and 37 HBPs in 286 innings while also giving up 28 homers, 19 of those in 15 SEC games.
Freshman Baylee Corbello holds foes to a .206 batting average and has a 12-7 mark in 132.2 innings of work. She’s struck out 137 but walked 98 and hit 17.
Against the SEC, Corbello has walked 46 and fanned 42 in 46.1 innings.
Senior Ashley Czechner holds a 3.53 ERA in 113 innings, striking out 78 while walking 57. Opponents are hitting .275 against her.

LSU and South Carolina Against Common Foes

The two teams have played four common foes, all ranked in the top 25 this week.
Both were swept in a three-game series at Alabama and lost home games to Minnesota.
LSU took two-of-three in series at home against both Georgia and Tennessee, while South Carolina went 1-5 in meetings at those top-20 teams.

Ties between South Carolina and LSU

LSU’s Hailey Smith and SC’s Mackenzie Moler both played for the NJ Intensity travel-ball team.
Gamecock senior Dana Hathorn’s father and grandfather played sports at LSU. Her dad Jim played baseball in the late 70s, while her grandfather Conley Hathorn played basketball from 1935-38, earning All-SEC honors in 1938.

Series History vs. the Tigers

LSU owns a 39-15 advantage in the series which improves to 36-15 when only counting the SEC era. The two teams played three times in 1982, with the Gamecocks winning all three.
In Columbia, the Tigers are 15-6 all-time, winning their last seven games on Beckham Field.

Current Gamecock Stats vs. LSU

Senior Dana Hathorn has a .300 batting average and .400 on-base percentage in nine games all-time against the Tigers with one double (in 2012).
Junior Kristen Struett is 4-for-10 with a double against LSU in six games, with her three starts coming in 2013. Her on-base percentage vs. the Tigers is .500.
Ansley Ard, Olivia Lawrence, Ashlyn Masters and Codee Yeske are all looking for their first hit against LSU.

The Last Meeting

South Carolina	4

LSU	1

March 24, 2013
Baton Rouge, La.

Gamecocks Take 4-1 Win on Sunday at No. 13/12 LSU

Behind a 3-for-3 day from sophomore Kristen Struett, South Carolina (18-11, 1-5 SEC) picked up its first Southeastern Conference win of 2013 in a 4-1 victory over No. 13/12 LSU (27-6, 7-2 SEC) in front of 1,230 fans at Tiger Park on Sunday afternoon.

Recap | Box Score

The Last Series – South Carolina at LSU – March 22-24, 2013

LSU claimed the series with wins on Friday (4-0) and Saturday (6-0), but the Gamecocks came back to capture the final game against the 13th-ranked Tigers (4-1).
In game one, LSU’s Rachele Fico scattered three hits and two walks in the shutout win, striking out seven, and Gamecock second baseman Dana Hathorn went 2-for-3.
Two two-run homers from LSU’s Tammy Wray led the No. 13/12 Tigers to a 6-0 win over South Carolina on Saturday afternoon. Hathorn reached base in all three trips to the plate.
Kristen Struett’s 3-for-3 day that included two RBI singles and a double led the Gamecocks to the 4-1 win on Sunday at LSU. Right fielder Chelsea Hawkins went 1-for-3 with a two-RBI single. Left fielder Alaynie Page scored twice, going 1-for-3.

In Wins and Losses, Who (and What) Stands Out?

When the Gamecocks hit a homer, they are 22-6.
If they amass more hits than the foe, they are 25-1.
When holding opponents without a homer, South Carolina is 20-6.
In 11 of the 15 losses, the Gamecocks have given up eight hits or more. Only on four occasions have they won when allowing that many hits.
As a team, the Gamecocks slug .514 in wins and .367 in losses and reach base at a .417 clip in wins and just .320 in losses.
Gamecock pitching has a near 3:1 K:BB ratio in wins while it’s 0.73:1 in losses.
Julie Sarratt has a 93:30 K:BB ratio in 87.1 innings in wins and a 27:33 ratio in 43.2 innings in losses. Nickie Blue is in the same vicinity, 67:32 in wins (93.1 IP) and 18:21 in losses.
The Gamecocks have drawn 118 walks and been hit 26 times in 29 wins and garnered 40 free passes and 11 HBPs in 15 losses.
Catalysts in wins include Ashlyn Masters (.443 BA, 20 XBH in W’s, .238 BA, 2 2B in L’s), Ansley Ard (.404 BA in W’s, .174 in L’s), Codee Yeske (.469 OBP in W’s, .304 in L’s) and Kristen Struett (.375 OBP in W’s, .241 in L’s).

Milestone Wins for Gamecocks, Coach Smith Already Passed in 2014

South Carolina has played 2,038 games in its softball history, going 1328-704-6 (.653) 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.