April 21, 2014

The Dugout Club – Olivia Lawrence

South Carolina hosts Georgia Southern, S.C. State and Longwood
Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field – Columbia, S.C.

Week’s Links (all times Eastern)
Tues., April 22, 6 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

Wed., April 23, 6 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

Fri., April 25, 6 PM
Live Video | | @GamecockSoftbll

Sat., April 26, 1 PM
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2014 SC Softball Notes – 4/22

2014 SC Softball Stats – 4/20

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 26 game against Longwood. 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 38 of 47 games.
• As a team, the Gamecocks have scored 57.9 percent (62 of 107) of runners from third with less than two outs, standing fourth in the SEC.
• Some of 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 39 RBI in 61 chances. The rest of the team is 23-for-46.
• The Gamecocks have left the second-least runners on base in the SEC this season at 277.
• 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 142 team earned runs allowed, 106 have come in the 17 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 17, the team has plated 24, 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.

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 six of the games started 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, 4 and 6 ranked pitching staffs in ERA and 1, 2 and 5 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 4th at 3.48 and Georgia 6th at 3.63.
• In SEC action, the Lady Vols tops the league with a .330 batting average (as well as a .451 on-base percentage and .563 slugging percentage), while Alabama is 2nd at .328 and Georgia 5th at .287.
• The home series loss came to the fourth-best team by batting average, LSU (.293).

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 39 games, scoring 34 runs, more than any player’s total this year, and tallying 24 of her 25 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 19 doubles, tops in the SEC, stands second 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-10 in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, which can be found on page 10.
• She currently sits atop the career doubles-per-game list (0.26) and needs two RBI and eight hits to qualify for those per-game top 15s.
• With multiple hits in 15 games, she leads the team.
• She’s hitting .441 when playing a defensive position compared to .189 in 17 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 more than tripled their 2013 home win total, going 22-5 this year compared to 7-10 in Carolina Softball Stadium a year ago.
• Out of those 27 home games, South Carolina has posted a shutout in 12 of them. One loss even saw the Gamecocks throw a one-hitter (vs. No. 16/19 Minnesota, 3/19)
• In the 20 home dates, the Gamecocks have posted paid crowds over 1,000 in 16 of them.

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 3.34, Blue 4.18).
• 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 0.55 homers, 0.09 triples and 0.81 doubles per game, which stand third, tied for fourth and sixth in the league, respectively.
• The staff has given up only 17 runs in the fifth inning all year (45.1 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 (196) versus fly outs (103).

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 122 batters in 136 innings, a rate (6.28 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 .167 batting average (28-of-168) with 79 of her K’s in those circumstances.

Scouting Georgia Southern

• The Eagles are 30-15 on the season, losing four of their last six including a 6-4 setback to Alabama in Chapel Hill, N.C., last weekend.
• Pitching helps Georgia Southern the most, with the staff holding a 2.12 ERA in 297.2 innings.
• Sarah Purvis tops the group with a 1.94 ERA, fanning 215 against 48 walks in 162.1 innings. Foes hit .181 against her. She has hit 17 batters.
• Kourtny Thomas leads the hitters with 13 homers and 44 RBI.
• Taylor Rogers has 13 stolen bases in 28 games, while Emily Snider has 10 on the year.
• Snider also leads the way with seven sacrifice bunts.
• Shelby Morrill ranks second on the team in many categories, including six homers, 29 RBI and a .435 on-base percentage.
• Morgan Robinson has 10 doubles to go with nine HBPs.

GSU and South Carolina Against Common Foes

• Both teams have played a number of squads in the other’s league so far.
• Georgia Southern has not beaten an SEC team this year, falling to Tennessee twice, as well as Alabama and Georgia. The Gamecocks are 1-8 against those three teams.
• The Eagles lost the series to Furman, a team the Gamecocks swept, while both hold sweeps of Western Carolina and wins over Campbell and UNC Greensboro.

Ties Between South Carolina and Georgia Southern

• The Masters sisters and Eagles reserve Savanah Coon all went to Greenbrier High School in the Augusta area.

Series History vs. the Eagles

• South Carolina is 37-0 against Georgia Southern all-time and 18-0 at home.

The Last Meeting – South Carolina at Georgia Southern – March 3, 2013

• The Gamecocks completed a perfect weekend in the Eagle Classic with a 7-2 win over host Georgia Southern.
• Kristen Struett hit a three-run homer, while Alaynie Page scored three times and stole two bases.

Scouting South Carolina State

• The Bulldogs are 10-21 on the season, six of those wins coming against Division I teams.
• Cianna Burt has a team-high .337 batting average and .387 on-base percentage.
• Jasmine Harris leads the squad with four homers and 17 RBI.
• Jasmine Greer has stolen seven bases in eight tries.
• Unique Whitehurst has struggled in the field, making 17 errors in 31 games.
• Vianney Gomez has a team-best 4.16 ERA in 116 innings. She’s struck out 46 and walked 29.

SCSU and South Carolina Against Common Foes

• The Gamecocks are 3-0 against Presbyterian and Gardner-Webb this year, while SCSU is 1-3.

Scouting Longwood

• The Lancers are 31-12 on the season with four games this week before coming to Columbia.
• Megan Baltzell tops the Lancers offense, posting 16 doubles, eight homers and 39 RBI.
• She’s also second on the team with 13 stolen bases in 17 tries.
• Emily Murphy has the second-best on-base percentage at .429 but leads the squad with 21 stolen bases in 22 attempts.
• Murphy also is second in homers and third in RBI.
• Chelsea Sciacca has 13 doubles and 31 RBI, both second on the team.
• Both of the Lancers’ primary pitchers have 14 wins entering the week.
• Elizabeth McCarthy is the top pitcher for Longwood, fanning 105 batters against 43 walks in 124.2 innings. She holds a 1.97 ERA.
• Libby Morris has a 2.84 ERA in 128 innings, striking out 75 batters while walking 27.

Longwood and South Carolina Against Common Foes

• Against the same Big South teams, the Gamecocks are 6-0, while the Lancers are 11-3.
• Both teams have beaten Iowa, but South Carolina downed Arizona State, while Longwood fell 1-0 to the Sun Devils.

The Last Meeting

Longwood	2
South Carolina	7

March 31, 2012
Beckham Field

Westfall Powers Gamecocks to 7-2 Game 1 Win over Longwood Behind senior leftfielder Kaitlin Westfall’s 2-for-2 day, South Carolina (21-16) ran past Longwood (23-13) in a 7-2 victory in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader at Beckham Field.

Recap | Box Score |

Series History vs. the Lancers

• The Gamecocks are 4-2 all-time against the Lancers, winning the previous four games at Beckham Field.

The Last Series – Longwood at South Carolina – March 31, 2012

• South Carolina swept a doubleheader from Longwood, 7-2 and 12-5 on Sat., March 31, 2012.
• Chelsea Hawkins doubled in both parts of the doubleheader, and Kaitlin Westfall hit homers in both of the twinbill, including a grand slam in game two.
• In game one, Kristen Struett went 2-for-3, while in game two, Dana Hathorn scored twice and drove in two in a 1-for-3 day.

Gamecocks Know A Lot About the Big South

• Longwood is the sixth Big South foe the Gamecocks host at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham in 2014.
• South Carolina is 6-0 against the league so far this year and is 138-20-1 against teams currently in the Big South.