May 3, 2017

Feature Stories

Gamecock Softball: A Day in the Life
Superwomen to Be Honored by Gamecock Softball
Taylor Williams Driven by Family’s Sacrifices to Succeed
Victoria Williams Finds Her True Colors
SEC Corporate Career Tour Offers Unique Opportunity for Student-Athletes
Strength of SEC Softball is a Point of Pride for Gamecocks
Law School the Next Step in Webb’s Dedication to Help Others
Softball Alumni and Military Veterans Raise Awareness for Wounded Heroes
Gamecock Alums Rally Around Teammate After Louisiana Floods
Study Abroad Provides Unique Opportunities for Gamecock Softball Duo
Kaylea Snaer – 2016 NCAA Division I Doubles Leader
Gamecock Freshmen Build Connection before Columbia
Unique Recruiting Trip Impacts Future Gamecocks
Accountability Program for Gamecock Softball
Augustus Honing Leadership Skills

20-Year Anniversary of the First SEC Champs

Overview
Trinity Johnson Feature
Kendra McCutcheon Feature
Kim Pietro Feature

South Carolina Hosts No. 18/19 LSU to Finish Regular Season Play

South Carolina (30-21. 6-14 SEC) wraps up regular-season play at home against the No. 18/19 LSU Tigers (37-15, 11-10 SEC) at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field this weekend.
Both teams have clinched spots in the SEC Tournament but are playing for seeding, with much still to be determined from seed 2-12.
South Carolina honors its senior class all weekend, recognizing Taylor Williams and Jessica Elliott on Friday night, Kaylea Snaer and Macey Webb on Saturday and Nickie Blue and Victoria Williams on Sunday.
All three games will be carried on SEC Network, with Friday’s game a part of the network’s Bases Loaded wrap-around coverage at 7 p.m.

Pitchers Have Responded in Last 15 Games

The Gamecock pitching staff has posted a 1.97 ERA in its last 15 games, helping the team to two top-10 wins and an 8-7 mark over that period.
That includes a marked improvement in the team’s strikeout-to-walk ratio, posting 63 K’s while walking 36 in that stretch (99.2 innings).
In the 36 games before this, ending with the Texas A&M series, the Gamecock pitchers had posted a 3.33 ERA with 166 strikeouts to 139 walks in 229.1 innings of work.
This year, the Gamecocks have played 29 games against the top-100 scoring teams in NCAA Division I, going 12-17 in those contests.
With two night games scheduled, it’s worth noting that South Carolina has a 1.75 ERA at night compared to a 3.45 ERA in day games.

Offense Facing Off Against Some of the Best Pitching in the Country

South Carolina’s offense has squared off against the top 100 teams in ERA according to the NCAA Division I stat rankings on 34 occasions already (as of April 30), going 15-19 in those meetings.
This weekend, the Gamecocks face the 10th-ranked team in ERA, LSU.
The Gamecocks have had success against other top pitching teams, including scoring seven runs against USC Upstate, which stands fifth in ERA, and 14 at Alabama, the most a visitor has scored in a single game against the Crimson Tide, who is ninth in the rankings.
South Carolina has tallied the most runs against these six teams: Ohio (10), Presbyterian (14), Indiana (13), Tennessee (9), Alabama (14) and Florida State (7).
In 20 games against the top-25 ERA teams, SC is 6-14, but they are 9-5 against teams 26-100.

Gamecocks Post Victory vs. No. 1/2 Florida State

The biggest SC Softball victory in 15 years occurred on Fri., April 14, when the Gamecocks downed No. 1/2 Florida State 7-2.
It’s the fourth time in history South Carolina has beaten the top team in the country and the first time since 2002 NCAA Regionals in Columbia, when SC forced the “if” game against No. 1 UCLA with a 2-1 win (May 19, 2002).
The Gamecocks tallied seven runs against the nation’s eighth-best pitching staff in ERA, the most allowed by FSU this year, and SC raised Jessica Burrough’s ERA by 0.20 runs (0.57 to 0.77).
Junior Alyssa VanDerveer went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, while fellow junior Tiara Duffy knocked in the game-winning run with her three-run blast that put SC on top for good.

Blue Starting to Climb Gamecock Pitching Charts

Senior Nickie Blue owns South Carolina’s saves record and stands in the top five in NCAA Division I history in career saves with 20.
Blue’s also moved up South Carolina’s lists in innings pitched, appearances, wins, shutouts and strikeouts in 2017.
The staff ace posted her best start of the year at No. 9/9 Alabama, holding the Tide to two hits without issuing a walk in the shutout win, which garnered her SEC Pitcher of the Week honors, the second of her career.
She’s producing ground outs at a 61-percent rate this season (173-109), in line with her career rate that stood at 62 percent entering the season (777-472).
This year, Blue’s held foes to a .147 batting average (33-of-225) when she gets to two strikes.
Blue became the fourth Gamecock pitcher in history with back-to-back 200-inning years, joining Angie Lear (1990-91), Darlene Gareis (3 years, 1992-94) and Megan Matthews (4 years, 1999-2002) on that list.
In 2015, Blue posted over 200 innings in the circle and an ERA under 2.00, one of two in the SEC to post such numbers (Lauren Haeger of Florida the other).

South Carolina Softball Historical Record

South Carolina has played 2,236 games in its softball history, going 1446-783-7 (.648) in its 41st season of sponsorship.

Snaer Back to Threaten More Records

Senior first baseman Kaylea Snaer enters her senior weekend as South Carolina’s career record-holder in walks while ranking in the top 15 in 14 categories total.
Snaer started the year ranking first in SC history in doubles per game and walks per game and second in RBI per game.
Snaer’s already tied for ninth on the single-season walks list with 30 this year, one from matching her first two years’ total of 31, which are tied for sixth.
Moved to the leadoff spot at No. 14/13 Tennessee, Snaer went 6-for-11 with three doubles and a grand slam in the series, helping the Gamecocks win the SEC opener for the first time since 2008.
Snaer has reached base at a .419 clip in 26 games as the Gamecocks’ leadoff hitter, with 18 of those games coming in SEC play.
She had her career-best 24-game reached-base streak, the best for SC since Alaynie Page’s 21-game stretch in 2015, end against No. 2/1 Florida (3/18).
This year, she’s posted a walk-off blast in the eighth to down College of Charleston on Feb. 25 to add to her legacy of big hits.
Snaer ended 2016 with 27 doubles, leading the nation and tying for fourth in a single season in NCAA Division I history with five others.
She earned a spot on the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 team, the 17th Gamecock to garner selection.

Blue, Snaer Among NCAA Division I Active Leaders

Gamecock seniors Nickie Blue and Kaylea Snaer both rank among NCAA Division I’s active leaders in some statistical categories.
Blue leads the country with 20 career saves, while she’s fourth in appearances (169).
Snaer stands fourth in career doubles with 56.
The duo both hold NCAA season statistical plaques: Snaer for doubles in 2016 and Blue for saves in 2014.

Gamecocks Found Success on the Road in the SEC

South Carolina won a game in each of its four SEC trips this season, the first time since 2001 to accomplish that feat (at Arkansas, Georgia, Auburn & Kentucky).
The Gamecocks won single games at No. 14 Tennessee, No. 9 Alabama and Mississippi State before taking the series at No. 22/25 Georgia.
The five road wins is the most for a Beverly Smith team since 2013, when the Gamecocks took six road SEC games (1 at No. 13 LSU, 2 at Auburn, 3 at Mississippi State).
It’s the first time SC has won games at three different ranked SEC foes, topping the two wins in 2004 (at No. 4 LSU, 3/13; at No. 13 Alabama 4/17).
The win in Knoxville ended a 16-game, 15-year losing streak, with the last wins coming in a series sweep on April 2-3, 2002.
That victory also stands as SC’s first in an SEC opener since 2008.
Meanwhile, the Gamecocks recorded the most runs by a foe at Alabama in history in the 14-0 win. .
It was the first win in Tuscaloosa since that 2004 contest mentioned earlier, ending an 18-game skid at Rhoads Stadium.
The Gamecocks got a shutout from Nickie Blue to down Mississippi State in the series opener.
South Carolina took the series at No. 22/25 Georgia two games to one, the first road series win against a ranked SEC team since taking two at No. 14 Kentucky in 2015.
It’s the Gamecocks’ first series win in Athens since sweeping a 2001 doubleheader from Georgia.
The Gamecocks have now one at least one SEC road series in each of the last five seasons.

Comebacks Becoming Regular Occurrence for Gamecocks

South Carolina has come from behind to capture a win 10 times already this season.
Five other times, the Gamecocks have picked up a walk-off win, twice in extra innings.
Last season, the Gamecocks won seven games entering the seventh either tied or down, and this year’s team has five, two shy of that mark.

Gamecock Pitching Posting Solid Results

In February, South Carolina’s pitching tallied eight shutouts, tying 2014 for the most in the 2000s during the first month of the season.
Senior Jessica Elliott tossed the first solo no-hitter in seven years with her five-inning blanking of Winthrop in the first game of Feb. 28’s doubleheader.
The Gamecocks have three one-hitters and five two-hitters in the books this season.
Elliott owns one more complete game (7-6) and one more shutout (5-4) than fellow senior Nickie Blue after Elliott’s five-inning two-hitter vs. Charleston Southern on Tuesday.
Freshman Cayla Drotar has two complete-game shutouts as well, which includes a one-hitter in her debut against Presbyterian.

White Leads the Run Production

Krystan White leads the Gamecocks’ offense in RBI (37) and ranks second in batting average (.319) and doubles (9).
In her 4-for-4 opening day, three of her four hits went for extra bases: the homer joined with a double against Ohio and another double against Presbyterian.
She also showed her versatility, starting at both second and third while making stellar plays at both.
She added a team-best five RBI during the Texas Invitational, starting all four games.
White moved back to shortstop exclusively starting with the game at North Carolina after an injury to sophomore Kenzi Maguire suffered in Texas forced her out of the lineup.
She’s 7-for-9 with the bases loaded, and her grand slam led the Gamecocks to a 7-5 win over in-state rival USC Upstate (3/15).
This season, she’s hitting a team-best .440 with runners in scoring position and has 18 RBI with two outs, one more than freshman Mackenzie Boesel for most of the team.

Two Freshmen Making Impact Early in 2017

Freshmen Mackenzie Boesel has produced with a team-best .329 batting average and .432 on-base percentage to go with her seven home runs and 30 RBI, both of which rank second.
The March 6 SEC Freshman of the Week, Boesel posted a .550 batting average, two home runs and eight RBI in the prior seven games, including a three-run blast against No. 20/20 Arizona State.
She also drove in both Gamecock runs in the contest against No. 7/8 UCLA with her double.
Boesel’s seven homers are tied for second for a Gamecock freshman, one shy of Kaylea Snaer’s record.
A three-time South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, Drotar, in her first career start against Presbyterian, twirled a one-hitter.
That beginning harkens back to another in-state pitcher’s debut back in 2011, when Julie Sarratt no-hit Coastal Carolina in her first go in the circle on Feb. 12, 2011.
Drotar also tossed the first five innings and picked up the win in the victory over No. 1/2 Florida State on April 14, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors on April 18.
She’s also doubled twice vs. the Seminoles.

Some Win-Loss Breakdowns

In wins, South Carolina has 136 free base runners via walks (105) and HBPs (31) against 52 in losses.
The Gamecocks have only had 24 chances with runners on third and less than two outs in the 21 losses.
Those numbers equate to 39 runs in 21 losses compared to 196 in 30 wins.
The Gamecocks have 21 productive outs (10 SF, 11 SH) in wins and only five in setbacks.
In losses, South Carolina runs less (34 SB in W’s, 13 in L’s) and commit more errors (29 in 21 losses, 23 in 30 wins).
When Gamecock pitching keeps leadoff runners from reaching at least half the time, SC is 24-13.
In wins, the pitchers hold better strikeout-to-walk ratios (143:80 in wins, 86:95 in losses).
Seventeen of the 20 home runs allowed came in Gamecock losses, while 16 of the 24 wild pitches have come in those same defeats.

Scouting LSU

The Tigers are 37-15 on the year and are tied for sixth in the SEC with Kentucky at 11-10.
LSU is led by its pitching, which stands 10th in NCAA Division I with a 1.53 ERA.
Allie Walljasper (eighth, 1.01 ERA) and Carley Hoover (10th, 1.08 ERA) both stand in the top 10 in the individual rankings.
Walljasper doesn’t walk anyone (1.21 per seven innings) and has allowed only one home run in 104 innings.
Meanwhile, Hoover has fanned 141 batters while walking 58 in 116.2 innings.
Sydney Smith has been solid too, with a 1.75 ERA in 96 innings.
At the plate, Bailey Landry leads the way with a .453 batting average and .606 slugging percentage, helped by an SEC-leading six triples and a team-best eight doubles.
She’s also stolen a team-leading 11 bases. Other speed threats include Constance Quinn and Aliyah Andrews, both with nine stolen bases.
Sahvanna Jaquish has a team-best 47 RBI and has drawn 55 walks, boosting her on-base percentage to .557..
Sydney Springfield leads LSU with eight homers, one more than Jaquish, and has driven in 32 runs, two better than Landry.

Common Foes of the Gamecocks and Tigers

There are three common non-conference foes between South Carolina and LSU and five like SEC foes.
Both beat Long Beach State and Louisiana Tech and lost to UCLA.
In SEC play, LSU and SC both lost two of three to Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee.
LSU swept series at home from Mississippi State and Georgia. The Gamecocks just won two of three at Georgia and took one from the Western Division’s Bulldogs in Starkville.

Ties Between South Carolina and LSU

Seniors Layna Savoie (LSU) and Taylor Williams (SC) were both on the Houston Power travel-ball teams.

SC Series History vs. the Tigers

LSU holds a 44-16 advantage in the series, including a 17-7 lead in games in Columbia.

The Last Series – South Carolina at LSU – April 22-24, 2016

LSU swept the series in Baton Rouge last year, taking Friday’s game 7-2, Saturday’s Geaux Teal contest 8-0 (5) and Sunday’s finale 2-0.
Kaylea Snaer tied the SEC single-season doubles mark on Friday night and scored a go-ahead run, but LSU answered back to take the 7-2 win.
Four Gamecocks reached base in the Saturday loss to Allie Walljasper and the Tigers.
LSU didn’t walk a Gamecock in either of the final two games, helping them shut out South Carolina on Sunday, 2-0.
The Gamecocks had the tying run reach base in the seventh with two down on Sunday, but a Sydney Smith strikeout ended the game and gave LSU the series sweep.

Gamecocks Love Home Cooking at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field

South Carolina holds a 20-8 home record, and the team’s numbers reflect the better play at home.
The team has a .974 fielding percentage on the finely-maintained surface of Beckham Field (thanks to Marcus Thurber and crew), compared to .954 mark in the 23 games away from home.
The pitcher’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is markedly better (147:98 at home, 82:77 away/neutral) as well as the opponent batting average (.202 to .280). Eleven of the 14 shutouts have come at home.
Senior Jessica Elliott (1.84 ERA at home, 3.81 ERA away) has been better at Carolina Softball Stadium and has shown better control (66:32 K:BB ratio at home, 32:49 away).
SC natives Krystan White (.361/.429/.556 at home, .278/.366/.319 away) and Victoria Williams (.357/.427/.586 at home, .257/.307/.400 away) enjoy the home feel the most.
Junior Tiara Duffy has been SC’s best hitter at home (.370/.443/.556 vs. .266/.309/.391 away)

The Schedule Has Never Been Tougher

The 2017 schedule is the toughest compiled to date by head coach Beverly Smith.
The Gamecocks were scheduled to play 33 of their 56 regular-season games against teams who made the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
South Carolina played at least one 2016 NCAA Tournament team each weekend except for one: the SEC trip to Mississippi State, who ended last year with a 39 RPI and was ineligible for postseason play (26-31 record).
The docket included 15 games against Women’s College World Series teams and another three against last year’s top seed in the NCAA Tournament (and defending SEC champs), Florida, who lost in super regional play to Georgia.
A total of 42 of the Gamecocks’ scheduled games came against teams that finished in the top 100 of the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index last year. Of those, 39 were against the top-76 teams and 33 are versus the top 50.
The Gamecocks played four defending regular-season conference champs: Florida (SEC), Florida State (ACC), Longwood (Big South) and North Dakota State (Summit) as well as the Atlantic Sun (USC Upstate) and SEC (Auburn) Tournament champs from 2016.
Of the preseason top 25 in both major polls, the Gamecocks faced nine of them, including four of the top five and eight of the top 10 (seven in the NFCA poll).
Seven of those nine were in SEC play, accounting for 20 games.
South Carolina, who had 13 points in the NFCA/USA Today Preseason poll, also had five games against teams receiving votes in between the two polls.

Gamecocks Off the Diamond

The Gamecocks post their third-highest team GPA in the past 10 years last spring (3.456).
Fourteen Gamecocks garnered NFCA Scholar-Athlete honors in 2015-16, the most under Beverly Smith.
Kaylea Snaer became the 17th Gamecock selected to CoSIDA’s Academic All-District team in 2016, a year after Victoria Williams made the squad.
Off the 2016 roster of 20 students, 17 Gamecocks earned SEC Academic Honor Roll nods.
The softball team has won the department’s Community Outreach Team of the Year twice under Bev Smith in 2011 and 2013.
Former Gamecocks have played a big part in helping out the Louisville Slugger Warriors team made up of former military veterans.

Gamecocks Have a Rich NCAA Tournament History

South Carolina earned its 19th bid in the NCAA Tournament in 2016, the fourth straight under head coach Beverly Smith.
The Gamecocks are 37-41 in those trips, making three NCAA 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.
Last season’s regional was SC’s fourth trip to a regional in Tallahassee and the third-straight year the Gamecocks drove to Florida’s capital city.

Gamecock Newcomers, Signees Have Loads of Accolades, Accomplishments

Many Gamecocks have won awards at South Carolina, but the high school accolades continue to raise the specter of Bev Smith’s recruiting classes.
This year’s freshman class has two high school All-Americans on it: Mackenzie Boesel and Cayla Drotar.
The team also added its third NJCAA All-American under Bev Smith, signing Shannon Plese out of Chattanooga State.
Plese follows in the footsteps of former Tigers Melissa Hendon and Kaela Jackson (herself a former NJCAA All-American) and joins 2015 NJCAA Pitcher of the Year Jessica Elliott on the roster.
Drotar also claimed the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year award the past three seasons, and next year, two-time New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year Kelsey Oh will join her.
Meanwhile, Gamecock signee Alex Fulmer has racked up notoriety on the baseball diamond, playing for the last two years with the USA Baseball Women’s National Team.
She played on teams that won the 2015 Pan American Games gold medal as well as the consolation bracket of the 2016 World Baseball Softball Confederation World Cup.
Fulmer and Oh were joined by Jana Johns, Victoria Galvan and Alyssa Kumiyama in the 2018 signing class. Morgan Davis and Anna Vest also joins that group in the fall.

Roster Notes

Leading the Gamecocks’ 14 returners is the senior pitching duo Nickie Blue and Jessica Elliott.
The duo combined for all 61 starts, 390.1 innings, 246 strikeouts, 37 wins and all eight saves.
Six position player starters return for the Gamecocks from last year’s squad.
South Carolina lost five students who combined to start 215 games, including a majority of starts at catcher, second base, left and center field.
The highest percentage lost in any offensive category is stolen bases at 75 percent, followed by triples at 66.7 and sacrifice hits at 50.
The Gamecocks return around 60 percent of its offense in most other categories, including 74.4 percent of their doubles to 71.7 percent of their home runs.
The top hitter from last year is back, senior Kaylea Snaer, as she led NCAA Division I in doubles and SC in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, RBI and sacrifice flies.
Six newcomers could play in 2017, three signees and three transfers.
Leading the transfers is former first-team All-Big Ten catcher Alyssa VanDerveer (Penn State).
Also transferring in are a pair of award-winning outfielders: two-time 2016 Big Ten Freshman of the Week Lauren Stewart (Purdue) and two-time NJCAA All-American Shannon Plese (Chattanooga State).
The Gamecocks hail from 12 states this year, with the newcomers coming from California, Georgia, New Jersey, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Nickie Blue and Hayley Copeland are the first Gamecock duo who are both over six-feet tall.
While both are Williams’ and seniors by class, Taylor and Victoria are not sisters.

Cali Connection Shows Out in Homestead

Six of South Carolina’s players hail from California, including four everyday starters, and that quartet put on a show playing in front of family and friends in the Judi Garman Classic.
Freshman Mackenzie Boesel earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors after ranking fifth in the tourney in batting average (.571), posting eight hits, six RBI and four walks.
Senior Kaylea Snaer doubled twice and hit .400 on the trip, moving within a two-bagger of advancing on both the Gamecocks’ career doubles and total-base charts.
Sophomore Kennedy Clark doubled twice in the Indiana win and hit .375 on the weekend.
Junior Kamryn Watts stole a pair of bases while batting .316 in the five games.
Boesel, Snaer and Watts all reached base in all five outings, while Clark did so in the first three.
It was the Gamecocks’ third straight season to play in the Golden State (2015 Mary Nutter Classic, 2016 UCSB Gaucho Classic).

Augustus Plays Big Role in SC Sweeping Through Gamecock Invitational

Junior Jordyn Augustus did a little of everything in her four starts during the Gamecock Invitational, helping South Carolina win all four of its games in the event.
With an illness sidelining everyday starter Kamryn Watts on Friday and Saturday, Augustus put on an infielder’s glove and started three games at third base, making two errors in 12 chances.
To close out the weekend-opening win, she fielded three straight balls flawlessly in the seventh.
She brought in the game-winning run in the first outing against North Dakota State with a sacrifice fly before scoring the game-winner in the second outing against the Bison.
In that second game, she put down a bunt single, stole second and scored on Kennedy Clark’s RBI single.
She capped the weekend with a 2-for-2 day, stealing two bases, scoring twice, driving in two runs while reaching base in all four plate appearances, also reaching via walk and hit-by-pitch.
Overall, she batted .429 with a .500 on-base percentage and four stolen bases in the tournament.

Gamecocks Post Stellar Opening Weekend in Carolina Classic

South Carolina showed excellence in every aspect of the 2017 Carolina Classic, going 5-0 in the event.
The five wins pushed head coach Beverly Smith to 200 career victories, a new milestone for the seventh-year boss of the Gamecocks.
The Gamecocks won three of the five games in shortened contests, the most ever in an opening week of competition. and matching last year’s Carolina Classic output.
The defense looked outstanding, with several stellar plays coming from the infield, that sports former shortstops in three spots (Maguire, Watts and White as freshman at SC, Boesel in high school).
The team did not commit an error on the weekend, a five-game stretch. Only Toledo was able to match that in NCAA Division I through an opening five-game weekend this season.
Last season, the Gamecocks had one six-game stretch without an error (Feb. 20-26).
That helped the pitchers post a 0.23 ERA, which ranks sixth in NCAA Division I.
The group posted two one-hitters and a shutout streak of 27.2 innings, the longest since a 29-inning stretch in 2014 (Feb. 16-23).
Four straight shutouts began the year, the first time that has been accomplished by a Gamecock team. The 1983, 1984 and 1986 teams all tallied three.

South Carolina Staff Has Top Credentials

Gamecock head coach Beverly Smith has been a part of 12 NCAA Tournament teams as a coach (eight at UNC, four at South Carolina).
Associate head coach Lisa Navas has been to six NCAA Tournaments as an assistant coach (four 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.
Navas has been selected to be a part of the 2017-19 USA Softball Women’s National Team coaching pool alongside 21 other coaches.
Assistant coach Calvin Beamon has three titles to his credit as a player, 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.
Volunteer assistant Matt Stewart worked the past three years at Florida, serving as a manager for both of the Gators’ national title wins.