Gamecocks Kick Off 14-Game Home Stand Thurs. vs. Western Carolina

A 14-game-in-18-day home stand begins Thursday at 4 PM against Western Carolina.
On Friday, the Gamecocks welcome four teams, including No. 24/24 South Alabama, as part of the 2015 Carolina Classic.
With the Jaguars a part of the home field, the Gamecocks have hosted non-conference games in consecutive years against ranked foes (No. 16 Minnesota on March 19, 2014).
Charleston Southern, last year’s Big South Tournament champs, and a resurgent Marshall (11-3 in 2015) join SC, South Alabama and Tennessee State in the 10-game event that begins on Friday.

First Trip for South Carolina to Nutter Classic A Success

The Gamecocks went 3-2 in the trip to the Palm Springs area, picking up two wins over Pac-12 foes in consecutive games.
South Carolina downed Stanford 6-2 and No. 21/20 California 3-1 in the event, marking the first time the Gamecocks had two wins over a Pac-12 team in the same season since 2007 (W’s over Oregon in 2007 Columbia Regional).
When was the last time SC beat two different members of the current Pac-12 in a year? 1996 (W 2-1 vs. Utah, W 1-0 vs. No. 1 Arizona). Never had it beaten two different Pac-12 teams in the same weekend before.
Redshirt senior Julie Sarratt returned to form during the event, picking up two wins, including the complete-game victory over the Bears.
Sarratt also homered in that win, capping a streak of four-consecutive hits over three games, driving in runs with three of those.
Overall, Sarratt and Nickie Blue combined for a 2.06 ERA, the sixth-best mark in the 35-team event.
Junior left fielder Alaynie Page kept up her strong play, pushing her hitting streak to 14 games before drawing two walks in an 0-for-2 outing vs. Northwestern to snap the skein.
Page hit .375 in the event and walked four times, most on the squad.
Senior centerfielder Kristen Struett matched Page in hits (6) and runs (4) in her native California.
Struett shined in the finale, going 3-for-3 while hitting her first homer of the year against Northwestern.
Other notable performances include Taylor Williams 3-for-4 day vs. LIU Brooklyn, Sarah Mooney and Victoria Williams two-hit days with a double each vs. Stanford
For the second-straight year, Gamecock head coach Beverly Smith challenged her team with a West Coast trip that includes games against two ranked foes.
This year, as part of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., the Gamecocks took on No. 9/8 Florida State and No. 21/20 California.
Last season, South Carolina faced No. 3 Arizona State and No. 19 Minnesota in Tempe, Ariz.

South Carolina Sweeps Through Gamecock Invitational

The Gamecocks picked up four wins over Carolina rivals in the Gamecock Invitational.
Twice, the Gamecocks came from behind to win, both coming in the nightcaps on Friday (9-6 vs. Presbyterian) and Saturday (5-4 vs. College of Charleston).
Junior left fielder Alaynie Page led the Gamecock offense, hitting two doubles and four round-trippers in the event.
She helped the Presbyterian comeback with a program-tying two home runs and five RBI in the game, while she started the effort against the Cougars with an inside-the-park homer.
Page also had 10 RBI and two stolen bases in the event and tied for the team lead with six runs scored alongside junior right fielder Ansley Ard.
Of those who started three games or more, only one didn’t hold a .400 on-base percentage on the week.
Sophomore Nickie Blue allowed one earned run in the four games, going 3-0. She pitched six innings in the one-hitter against Appalachian State.
Also against the Mountaineers, freshman Tiara Duffy picked up her first collegiate hit.

Page Soaring in 2015

Junior left fielder Alaynie Page has propelled the Gamecock offense in the early part of 2015.
She leads the team in 11 offensive categories, including batting average (.471), slugging percentage (.922), runs (17), hits (24), home runs (6) and RBI (22).
The Gamecocks’ leadoff hitter has reached base 60 percent of the time she’s led off an inning.
Page is one home run from matching her freshman-year output and tying for 14th in South Carolina history on the single-season charts 15 games into 2015.
She’s already moved much higher on some Gamecock career charts, which can be found on page 10.
Of note, 14 of her 22 RBI have come with two outs.

The Last Meeting

Western Carolina	3

South Carolina	6

February 25, 2014
Columbia, S.C.

Lawrence Slam Hands Gamecocks a 6-3 Game One Win over Western Carolina
A sixth-inning grand slam from junior catcher Olivia Lawrence propelled South Carolina (12-2) to a 6-3 victory over Western Carolina (3-7) in Tuesday’s first game at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.

Recap | Box Score |

Scouting Western Carolina

The Catamounts enter the contest at 1-2 on the season, with seven games cancelled due to weather over the past two weekends.
Eight starters are back from last year’s squad that went 19-34 overall and 8-13 in the Southern Conference.
Kara Salvo led the 2014 Catamounts with a .311 batting average, four home runs and 25 RBI.
Courtney Price and Taylor Sigmon had nine and seven doubles, respectively, and had three homers each.
The best hitter in Western Carolina’s first week was Pima (Ariz.) CC Victoria Mariscal, who had two home runs and five of the team’s six RBI.
The other players went 7-for-6 with no extra base hitts.
Every inning is back from last year’s squad that posted a 3.93 ERA and 341 K’s in 347.1 innings
Jordan Garrett returns as the ace, fanning 12 and walking eight in 11 innings this year, picking up the lone win with a complete game against Radford.
A year ago, Garrett fanned a batter an inning in 164 innings while walking 78.
Taylor Sigmon ranked as the 2014 team’s closer, posting six saves with a 1.40 ERA in 45 innings, striking out 60 and walking 13.

Western Carolina and South Carolina Against Common Foes

Both teams played North Carolina, with Western falling 1-0 in Chapel Hill, while the Gamecocks beat the Tar Heels at home 6-3.

Series History vs. the Catamounts

The Gamecocks have won all four games in the series that dates back to 2007.

The Last Meeting – South Carolina vs. Western Carolina – Feb. 25, 2014

Julie Sarratt tossed a two-hit shutout in the second game of the doubleheader, a 5-0 win for South Carolina.
Sarratt struck out six Catamounts and only gave up two hits, the first one an infield single to Makenzi McAteer leading off the sixth to end the no-no bid.

Watch Us Play on the SEC Network + (At Home and On The Road in SEC Play)

All 31 home games will be on either the SEC Network (five games) or on SEC Network + via the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com.
Also, four road SEC games will be on the SEC Network with the rest on the SEC Network +.
The three remaining road non-conference games will be streamed live via an audio broadcast for a $10 monthly fee as part of the Gamecocks All-Access page at GamecocksOnline.com.

Roster Notes

Seven position player starters return for the Gamecocks from last year’s squad.
In the circle, only 28 innings depart, while the duo of Nickie Blue and Julie Sarratt return after going 35-22 with 11 saves last year.
Back from 2014 are team leaders in home runs (Sarah Mooney, 12), runs batted in (Kaylea Snaer, 35), walks (Snaer, 31) and stolen bases (Ansley Ard, 9).
SC lost four seniors who combined to start 157 games, including every start at second base and shortstop as well as 54 of 58 starts in right field.
The top offensive loss is Ashlyn Masters, who started a team-high 56 games and led the way in 10 categories: at bats (174), batting average (.362), on-base percentage (.447), runs (47), hits (63), doubles (19), triples (3), total bases (112), slugging percentage (.644) and sacrifice flies (3).
South Carolina looks to replace highs of 53 percent of its sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies (8 of 15 in both) as well as 51 percent of doubles (42 of 82).
In the rest of the offensive categories, the Gamecocks bring back from 53.8 percent (at bats and triples) to 70.7 percent (home runs) of their production from 2014, a season where the Gamecocks set four team offensive records.
Seven freshmen join the squad to put the roster at 22 for the second-straight year.
The team is dominated by South Carolina natives, with 36.4 percent of the roster (eight players) hailing from the Palmetto State. California is second with four players.
The Gamecocks hail from 10 states this year, with the freshmen coming from California, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the Palmetto State.
Nickie Blue and Hayley Copeland are the first Gamecock duo who are both over six-feet tall.
While both Williams’ and sophomores by class, Taylor and Victoria are not sisters.

The Last Meeting

Charleston Southern	1

South Carolina	9	(6)

April 1, 2014
Columbia, S.C.

Patience Pays Off in Gamecocks’ 9-1 (6) Win over Charleston Southern
South Carolina (23-12) used a patient approach to dispatch Charleston Southern (19-22-1) in six innings 9-1 in the afternoon half of the split doubleheader on Tuesday at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.

Recap | Box Score

Scouting Charleston Southern

Six starting players return from last year’s Big South Tournament champs.
Two returners are pitchers Jennifer Giles and Cheyenne Gandara, who both posted 11 wins and ERAs under 2.50 and opponent batting averages less than .240 last year.
Gandara, the reigning Big South Pitcher of the Week, continues to get the majority of innings, and she’s posted a 55:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2015 to go with her 3.02 ERA in 44 innings.
Gandara also tops the offense in nearly every major category, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and doubles.
Amanda Matsumoto provides the spark up top, tying with Gandara with a .500 batting average while stealing five bases in as many tries.
A year after starting in 16 games, Marci Christian has become the focal point in the middle of the order, already tallying seven home runs and 16 RBI. She was named the most recent Big South Player of the Week.
Natalie Yonan has eight walks already on the year, helping nearly double her OBP over her average.

Ties Between South Carolina and Charleston Southern

The Buccaneers’ Matsumoto and South Carolina’s Jordyn Augustus both played for the Beverly Bandits’ travel-ball group.

Series History vs. the Buccaneers

The Gamecocks are 14-2 all-time against the former Baptist College, including an 8-1 mark at home in the series that dates back to 1988.

The Last Meeting – Charleston Southern at South Carolina – April 1, 2014

Drawing 10 walks, South Carolina downed Charleston Southern 9-1 in six innings in the first game of a split doubleheader.
Nickie Blue tossed a two-hitter, giving up one unearned run on three walks and four strikeouts.
Both Lauren Masters and Sarah Mooney went 2-for-2 with two RBI each.

Scouting Marshall

Seven starters and the top pitcher return from last year’s 28-31 Herd squad.
Marshall stole 119 bases a year ago, ranking eight in NCAA Division I, and the top three theft artists return.
This season, Morgan Zerkle leads the team in the slash categories as well as in runs (22) and stolen bases (20-21).
A season ago, Shaelynn Braxton had 14 doubles, 16 home runs and 57 RBI to lead the Herd. She has 17 homers and one rounde-tripper thus far in 2015.
Kaelynn Green stole 31 bases in 39 tries while hitting a team-best .397 last year. She’s hitting .349 with eight stolen bases in 14 games this season.
Newcomer Elicia D’Orazio has fit in with the running style, stealing nine bases and scoring 11 runs, second on the team in both.
In the circle, Jordan Dixon carries the load, tossing 78.2 of the team’s 96 innings this season.
She has 114 strikeouts against 21 walks and 13 hit batters with her 2.97 ERA this season, while last year she fanned 245 in 245.1 innings while walking 126 and hitting 49 more.
She does give up big hits, with 19 of the 54 allowed this year going for extra bases. A year ago, she allowed 39 home runs, and opponents hit .253 against her.

Marshall and South Carolina Against Common Foes

Both teams hold wins over East Carolina (5-4 in 9 in Greenville) and College of Charleston (3-1 at Patriot’s Point).

Series History vs. the Marshall

The Gamecocks lost the only previous meeting against Marshall on April 14, 1995 in the Frost-Cutlery Invitational in Chattanooga, Tenn.

South Carolina Staff Has Top Credentials

Gamecock head coach Beverly Smith has now been a part of 10 NCAA Tournament teams as a coach (eight at UNC, two at South Carolina).
Associate head coach Lisa Navas has been to four NCAA Tournaments as an assistant coach (two at SC, one each at UNC and Missouri) and eight as a head coach (six Division II at Barry, two at NC State). Her 1998 Barry squad played in the national championship game.
Assistant coach Calvin Beamon has three titles to his credit, the biggest a College World Series title at Texas during 2005.
He also won the NJCAA Division I title in 2003 at the College of Southern Nevada and a high school state championship at Smoky Hill High School in Cherry Creek, Colo.

Scouting South Alabama

The Jaguars enter the weekend at 10-3 on the season, a year after going 42-14 and finishing second in the Sun Belt.
Ranked 24th in both major polls, South Alabama has relied on its freshmen pitchers so far after graduating two-time NFCA All-American Hannah Campbell.
Devin Brown has impressed, posting a 2.05 ERA in 44.1 innings, striking out 87 against 22 walks.
Kalen McGill has a 1.94 ERA in 21.2 innings, but she’s struck out 13 against five walks.
Eight position starters return, led by Amanda Minahan and Chloe Rathburn, who had six and seven home runs, respectively.
Rathburn has 12 RBI already this season, a year after posting 37.
Minahan has three doubles in 2015 for a team that has 22 so far.
Minahan and Emily Messer combined to steal 21 bases in 22 tries last year, with Messer taking three bases already in five attempts.
Stephanie Pilkington leads USA in the slash stats, drawing 14 walks already.
Kaitlyn Griffth has two of the Jags’ five homers and has driving home 12. She had 14 doubles last year.
Gwen Jones came off the bench mainly a year ago and went 22-of-25 in stolen bases.

Ties Between South Carolina and South Alabama

The Jaguars’ Amanda Minahan and South Carolina’s Jordyn Augustus both played for the Beverly Bandits’ travel-ball group.

Gamecocks vs. Ranked Opponents

South Carolina is 101-240-1 (.297) against opponents ranked in the NFCA top 25 since 1995.
Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 45-77 (.369) at home, 17-108 (.148) on the road and 39-55-1 (.416) in neutral-site outings.
This season, SC is 1-1 against foes ranked by the NFCA.
In 2014, the Gamecocks went 6-13 against teams ranked in the NFCA poll at the time of the game, including a 2-8 mark on the road.
Twice, the Gamecocks won an SEC home series against ranked teams, downing Texas A&M and Auburn, the first time in history that had happened in the same season.
South Carolina is now 2-24 against top-five opposition on the road, with one win being the 3-2 victory at No. 3/3 Arizona State on Feb. 27, 2014.

The Last Meeting

South Carolina	2

Tennessee State	4

February 10, 2012
Beckham Field

Gamecocks Stumble in Season Opener vs. Tennessee State, 4-2
South Carolina (0-1) settled down defensively after a rough first two innings, but the offense could not get on track, as Tennessee State (1-0) claimed a 4-2 win over the Gamecocks in both teams’ first softball game of 2012.

Recap | Box Score

Scouting Tennessee State

Five starters return from last year’s 18-38 Tigers team.
Top hitter Courtney Gearlds (.280 average) had three triples and a team-high 15 stolen bases.
This year, Gearlds is 7-for-21 with a double and five steals in six tries.
Tayler Shimizu has topped the team with a .368 batting average and two doubles so far.
Lindsey Burgess, who hit five home runs last year to lead TSU, has two blasts and six RBI in `15.
Seven games into 2015, the Tigers have 14 stolen bases, a year after taking 40 as a team.
Top returning pitcher Shea Morris (2.68 ERA, 144 K:48 BB in 166.1 innings) has not pitched at all in 2015.
Newcomers Taylor Green and Amber Galyon have handled most of the pitching thus far.
Green has a 4.11 ERA in 15.1 innings and all three Tiger wins.

The Last Meeting – Tennessee State at South Carolina – Feb. 10, 2012

Tennessee State took the 2012 season opener from the Gamecocks 4-2 at Beckham Field.
No Gamecocks and two Tigers (Kate & Shea Morris) remain from those who played in that game, the only meeting between the two teams.

Offense Struggles in Two Straight Losses

In the second East Carolina game and the home opener vs. UCF, the Gamecocks did not have a single extra-base hit after posting at least two and as many as seven in the first four games, all wins.
Another common stat in the losses, the AAC foes hit a triple to start the first in each.

We Schedule Tough

The Gamecocks play 24 of their 56 regular-season games against teams who made the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
A total of 41 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, 26 are against RPI top-50 teams.
Thirty-one games come at home, including non-conference foes UCF, South Alabama and USC Upstate, who all made the NCAA Tournament with RPI’s in the top 30.
UCF (American), Florida State (Atlantic Coast), USC Upstate (Atlantic Sun) and Coastal Carolina (Big South) won their leagues’ regular-season last season.

Smith Has Former Staff Members and Gamecock Players Coaching

Gamecock head coach Beverly Smith has a growing collegiate coaching tree from her short time at South Carolina.
Two former student-athletes (Ashley Chastain and Kelley Dillon) are on the College of Charleston staff.
Her first two volunteer assistants serve as full-time assistants at Connecticut (Chrissy Schoonmaker) and at George Washington (Laura Trout).
Former top assistant Janelle Breneman took over at UNC Greensboro as the head coach after two years with the Gamecocks and Smith in Columbia.

Alum Codee Yeske Trying to Make USWNT in Baseball

Former Gamecock infielder Codee Yeske (2012-14) is among 36 invitees to the 2015 USA Baseball Women’s National Team Trials, set for May 22-24, 2015.
Also on the invitee list is former volunteer assistant Laura Trout.

Opening Weekend Notes

South Carolina went 4-1 in the Pirate Classic, posting 10 runs or more in three of its first four games for the second time in three years (2013 Stetson Lead-Off Classic).
Both Nickie Blue and Julie Sarratt posted two wins and one shutout in the tourney, with Blue adding a save.
Blue joined Alaynie Page and Taylor Williams on the Pirate Classic All-Tournament Team.
The junior Page hit a team-best .500 while also leading the squad with seven runs and eight RBI out of the leadoff spot, four coming on a grand slam vs. Delaware State.
Williams hit two home runs in the 11-2 win over East Carolina on Saturday night, matching a program record.
Gamecocks Effie Manahan, Kate Shereyk and Kamryn Watts all posted their first career hits on RBI singles in the tourney, while Caroline Cash also tallied her first hit.
Junior Jordan Bizzell was never retired while at bat in the event, scoring five runs while walking five times and going 3-for-3 with a double and a home run.

Offensive Records Falling Regularly for Gamecocks Under Smith

South Carolina set six team offensive records in 2014, four cumulative and two per-game.
The 53 homers, 210 walks, .385 on-base percentage and .464 slugging percentage all topped previous marks.
Per-game marks broken include home runs (0.91) and walks (3.62), both set the previous year.
Sixteen team single-season records have been set in Smith’s first four years, eight each in both cumulative and per-game stats.
Smith’s teams have set the home run and slugging percentage records now in three-straight seasons.
The 210 walks snapped a mark (173) set in 1992.

South Carolina Team Notes

South Carolina is 0-3 when not collecting an extra-base hit during a game.
Julie Sarratt has a 10.50 ERA in the first inning and a 1.18 ERA in the rest of the contest.
Nickie Blue has allowed a .050 batting average with two outs (3-of-60). Once she gets a batter to two strikes, she has given up a .070 batting average (7-of-100) with 47 strikeouts.

Gamecocks Have a Rich History in NCAA Tournament

South Carolina earned its 17th bid in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and its second straight.
The Gamecocks are 32-31 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.

South Carolina Softball Historical Record

South Carolina has played 2,070 games in its softball history, going 1344-719-7 (.651) in its 41st season of sponsorship.
With the first game of 2015, Beverly Smith becomes the second person to serve as the Gamecocks’ coach for five seasons at South Carolina, joining NFCA Hall-of-Fame coach Joyce Compton.

Gamecocks Picked to Finish 10th in SEC Coaches Preseason Poll

In a poll of the SEC coaches, South Carolina was picked to finish 10th in 2015.
Last season, the Gamecocks finished in a tie for eighth, three spots better than what the league’s coaches predicted in the preseason.
Of note, all nine teams picked ahead of South Carolina appear in both national rankings.
Defending national champion Florida was the coaches’ selection to take the 2015 league crown.
The past two years, the SEC has sent 11 teams into the NCAA Tournament, with two of the last three NCAA Champions hailing from the league.

This Is How Tough 2014 Was (Especially in the SEC)

When looking at last year’s RPI, the Gamecocks went 13-19 against top-100 RPI teams during regular-season play, with the only loss outside of the top 100 coming to Maryland (147).
South Carolina rebounded to beat Maryland the next day.
Overall, South Carolina was 7-17 against RPI top-50 squads.
South Carolina played 11 of the 63 other teams in the NCAA Tournament in the regular season, going 9-16 against those squads.
Six of those 11 were SEC foes, teams that the Gamecocks went 6-12 against during the year.
Five opponents earned national seeds, with the Gamecocks posting a 2-10 mark against them (No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Georgia, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 16 Minnesota).

The Pitchers Reigned Supreme in 2014

Both Julie Sarratt and Nickie Blue won SEC weekly awards in 2014.
Blue had seven saves, tied for the most in 2014 in NCAA Division I and second in a single season at South Carolina, and Sarratt four, tied for fifth in Gamecock history.
Both were better in relief (Sarratt 1.12 ERA, Blue 2.01) than starting (Sarratt 3.08, Blue 3.68).
The group posted a 29-inning scoreless streak from the final game at Florida Atlantic till the final game of the Gamecock Invitational.
Longer than that stretch was the Gamecock pitchers’ no-homer stand, a 72-inning stretch from the 4th against Ohio through the end of the UNC Wilmington game.
As a team, the Gamecock pitchers allowed 0.53 homers, 0.08 triples and 0.73 doubles per game, which stood second, sixth and fourth in the league, respectively.
The staff gave up 123 runs in the first three innings of games (174 IP) and only 98 runs in the innings 4-7 this season (in 195.2 innings).

Awards Poured in for 2014 Gamecocks

Gamecocks Nickie Blue and Kaylea Snaer both garnered spots on the SEC All-Freshman Team as voted on by the league’s coaches.
It’s the first time since 2008 for South Carolina to received multiple people on any combination of the SEC’s postseason awards.
Snaer (3rd team 1B) was joined by Ashlyn Masters (2nd team DP/U/Non-P) on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Southeast Region squads.
Chelsea Hawkins gained a spot on the 2014 SEC Softball Community Service Team, while Julie Sarratt made last year’s.
Both Masters and Kristen Struett claimed spots on the 2014 Tallahassee All-Regional Team.
Blue started the team’s weekly recognition haul with her Feb. 24 SEC Freshman of the Week win.
Sarratt garnered SEC Pitcher of the Week honors on March 17 after helping the Gamecocks take the series from nationally-ranked Texas A&M.
Masters (March 31) and Codee Yeske (May 5) both won SEC Player of the Week awards, the first time since 2005 the team had won two in a year.
Blue also earned a spot on the first listing of 25 for the NFCA’s inaugural National Freshman of the Year award.