Carolina Finishes Strong In Miami
Feb. 11, 2018
MIAMI, Fla. –South Carolina softball jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 6-3 win over St. John’s to close out the Felsberg Invitational in Miami, Fla., on Sunday.
The Gamecocks improved to 4-1 on the young season following the weekend with wins over Hofstra, ECU and St. John’s.
“I think we were excited to come out and see some different pitching this weekend,” head coach Beverly Smith said. “I think we’ve still got plenty of things we can go back home and work on. We have a growth mindset. We want to keep getting better. We did some good things. I’m proud of the things I saw and I really like what the team demonstrated on the field.
The Gamecocks scored two runs in the second thanks to Cayla Drotar‘s first career home run to take an early 2-0 lead. Drotar continued producing at the plate with a fourth-inning double to score Jana Johns and extend the lead to 3-0.
The scoring continued in the fifth as Mackenzie Boesel, Johns and Krystan White all earned RBIs to extend the lead to 6-0.
St. John’s mounted a comeback effort with three runs in the sixth, but Drotar finished the inning while Dixie Raley came in to finish the seventh and give the Gamecocks the 6-3 win.
Drotar led the way at the plate going 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBI. Kenzi Maguire, Boesel and White also produced with hits on the day.
NOTES —
The Gamecocks have scored at least one run in all five games this season. Dating back to last season, Carolina has done so in six of its last seven games.
Head coach Beverly Smith improved to 232-179 with the win. She is the second-winningest coach in school history.
With the win over St. John’s, Carolina improved to 23-2 in opening tournaments over the past six years.
Cayla Drotar continued her strong start to 2018, as she three 18.2 innings of scoreless action to start the season. She improved to 3-0 with her three starts (ECU, Hofstra, St. John’s).
Eight different Gamecocks, seven freshmen, have made their Carolina debut thus far through five games.
UP NEXT —
Carolina returns to action on Wednesday at Charlotte. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 PM ET. Live stats and updates will be provided on Twitter.
