May 1, 2015
COLUMBIA, S.C. – A four-run fourth proved to be the difference in South Carolina’s 6-3 win over Mississippi State on Friday evening at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
With runners in scoring position and two outs, freshman Caroline Cash delivered a pinch-hit single to right center, scoring both runners to give South Carolina (35-18, 9-13 SEC) the 3-1 lead. Junior left fielder Alaynie Page followed with a triple to the wall in right center, plating Cash, while senior centerfielder Kristen Struett drove home Page with an infield single to make it 5-1.
Page made it 6-1 with her solo home run in the sixth, her 15th of the season. Mississippi State (34-17, 9-13 SEC) staged a comeback with two outs in the seventh, getting three-straight singles, a walk and a hit-by-pitch to make it a 6-3 game, but Gamecock starting pitcher Nickie Blue (18-7) picked up her fourth strikeout of the night to end it there.
South Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the first on sophomore right fielder Victoria Williams’ single, which score Page after she started the game with a hit and took second on Struett’s sacrifice bunt. The Bulldogs tied it in the third on Katie Gentle’s double to right, scoring Caroline Seitz.
Blue went the distance, giving up three earned runs on nine hits and two walks in the victory. Alexis Silkwood (24-13) took the loss, allowing five runs, one earned, on 10 hits and a walk in four-plus innings of work.
Game Changer:
Cash’s two-out, two-RBI single in the fourth put the Gamecocks on top for good.
Key Stat:
Page picked up her fourth four-hit day of the season, adding her eighth triple and 15th home run of the year while scoring three times and driving home two.
Notables:
• On the career charts, Page tied Joyce McMillin (1998-2001) for second in home runs (24) and three others in 11th for triples (9).
• On the single-season list, Page set a new standard for total bases (150) in a year with the sixth-inning round-tripper, passing Tricia Popowski’s tally of 146 in her first-team All-American year in 1991.
• Page also moved into a tie for 11th on the single-season triple charts while tying Tina Plew (1994) in eighth with 53 runs in a year.
• Page’s four hits makes her the seventh Gamecock to compile 80 in a single season.
• Sophomore third baseman Taylor Williams went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.
• Senior catcher Olivia Lawrence as well as sophomore first baseman Kaylea Snaer went 2-for-4.
• Struett went 1-for-2 with a walk, an RBI and a sacrifice bunt.
• Of the 27 outs, two in the fifth stood out, as redshirt sophomore second baseman Lauren Masters stole a hit from the Bulldogs with her diving catch to her right. Victoria Williams followed that with a nice catch going back on a ball in right.
• Bulldogs Julia Echols and Seitz had 2-for-4 days with a run scored, while Seitz, Morgan Bell and Gentle all drove in runs.
• MSU head coach Vann Stuedeman was ejected from the game after an argument in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Tweet(s) of the Game:
@GamecockSoftbll game is already a blast but seeing how jacked @KaelaJackson30 @DiamondNavas get and their passion for the girls…#amazing
— RJ Abella (@CoachRidge) May 2, 2015
ESPN PLAY BY @lrmasters @GamecockSoftbll #MASTERSSISTER 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
— Ashlyn Masters (@Masters_A1) May 2, 2015
Quotable:
Head coach Beverly Smith
That was an exciting ball game. Caroline Cash really came up big for us with her two-out, two-RBI pinch hit, which was the difference in the ball game. She came in very composed and did exactly what she needed to do to put the ball in play. Those two runs were big. Of course we had some fantastic defensive stops, Lauren Masters with a diving catch at second and a couple of balls that we ran down in the outfield were super. Nickie (Blue) did a nice job keeping a good-hitting Mississippi State team off balance. The top of the seventh proved Mississippi State is a to-the-last-out team.
On Page’s home run:
That home run ball got out of the park quick. That was fun to watch.
Our offense did a nice job attacking, and I’m just proud of our effort and energy tonight.
Freshman Caroline Cash
I just wanted to do whatever I could to get my team the runs. It was a 2-2 count. I was fighting and got a curveball and put it in play.
Up Next:
The Gamecocks and the Bulldogs square off again on Saturday at 4 p.m. EDT at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. It will be Alumni Day for South Carolina, and SEC Network + will show the game live.
