March 25, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (22-12) came through with big hits in the sixth and seventh, downing Furman (15-13) 2-1 on Wednesday evening at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
Down a run entering the sixth, redshirt sophomore second baseman Lauren Masters laced her third hit of the day, and a Paladin miscue allowed her to reach second. Freshman shortstop Krystan White, in her first at-bat of the night, fought for 15 pitches before pushing the ball up the middle, allowing freshman pinch runner Jordyn Augustus to score from second to tie the game at 1-1.
With two down in the seventh in the tie game, sophomore first baseman Kaylea Snaer drove the 2-2 offering from Furman freshman Lindsey Bert (11-6) over the wall in center for her first career game-winning walk-off home run.
Furman took the 1-0 lead on Andrea Abbatiello’s third-inning leadoff homer to left center. She went 2-for-3, and only one other Paladin picked up a hit.
Gamecock redshirt senior Julie Sarratt (10-7) got the complete-game victory, giving up the one earned run on three hits and two walks while striking out eight, tying her season best. Bert picked up the loss, allowing two runs, one earned, on eight hits and a walk.
Game Changer:
White’s at-bat swung the momentum to the Gamecocks, who left nine runners on base in the contest, eight before her RBI single.
Key Stat:
In addition to the eight strikeouts, Sarratt kept the ball on the infield, getting 10 ground-ball outs.
Notables:
• With the complete game, Sarratt moved into a tie with Audrey Broyles (2009-13) and Melanie Henkes (2003-06) in 13th with 33, while the start pushed her into a tie with former All-American Darlene Lowery (1983-87) in eighth with 83.
• The seven innings pushed Sarratt past Broyles into eighth on that list, giving Sarratt 506 innings pitched in her career.
• Snaer’s homer continued her hitting streak to a career-best eight games, while her reached-base streak stands at 15 now, also a career high.
• A double by junior left fielder Alaynie Page pushed her reached-base streak to nine games.
• Masters went 3-for-3 on the night.
• Senior centerfielder Kristen Struett took a hit-by-pitch in the game, tying her for seventh in Gamecock history with Page and three others.
Tweet of the Game:
Enjoyed @GamecockSoftbll tonight! Exciting finish! #Gamecocks
— Carolina Christina (@LuvTheGamecocks) March 26, 2015
Quotable:
Freshman shortstop Krystan White
On her 15-pitch, game-tying at-bat
Just before I went up, my focus was to have a good at-bat in that situation. Coach Cal (Beamon) talked to me about having a top-half focus, as she was trying to jam us. I just kept fouling them off until I could get one I could get on top of.
I’ve never had that long of an at-bat. To win that at-bat was huge.
Up Next:
South Carolina takes on North Florida in a doubleheader on Thursday, with first pitch set for 5:05 p.m. EDT for the SEC Network + broadcast.
