March 21, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. –

Gamecock senior centerfielder Ansley Ard earned the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors after her two game-winning home runs, including a walk-off blast to down No. 12/12 Georgia on Sunday night, as part of South Carolina’s three wins.

Ard hit .600 and reached base at a .636 clip while leading the team with five runs scored and six RBI. She hit a grand slam in Wednesday’s first game against Buffalo, providing the winning margin in the 7-4 win. She followed that with the game-tying RBI on a bunt single in game two versus the Bulls. Ard saved the best for last, as she ended Sunday night’s SEC Network showcase game against the Bulldogs with a blast to left. Two innings earlier, she scored the game-tying run after leading off the fifth with a single.

The senior leads the Gamecocks with a .418 batting average this year and three sacrifice hits. Ard’s the second Gamecock this year to earn a weekly honor from the league, following Kennedy Clark’s Co-Freshman of the Week award on March 7. She’s the 11th Gamecock all-time to take the honor and the first since Codee Yeske won the last regular-season release of 2014.

Missouri’s Paige Lowary claimed the pitcher of the week award, while Florida’s Kelly Barnhill took the freshman honors.

South Carolina and No. 12/12 Georgia wrap up their three-game series at 7 p.m. tonight at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. Mark Neely and Amanda Scarborough will be on the call on the SEC Network.