Carolina Wins Two To Keep Winning Streak Going
Feb. 23, 2018
ORLANDO, Fla. –No. 24 South Carolina softball extended its season-high winning streak to nine games with a pair of wins over Louisville and Bradley to open the D9 Citrus Classic on Friday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Carolina started the day with a 5-3 win over the Cardinals before closing the day with an 8-0 victory against the Braves.
Between the two games, Alyssa VanDerveer shined at the plate with a .800 batting average on four hits with two RBI. Kenzi Maguire also shined going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Kamryn Watts was right up there going 3-for-6 between the two games.
Cayla Drotar and Kelsey Oh earned the victories in the circle while Dixie Raley picked up a save on the day between the two victories.
“I’m pleased to have two wins,” head coach Beverly Smith said. “We don’t think too much about streaks. We just think about the game that is in front of us. I thought Kenzi Maguire was a sparkplug today. She had an outstanding day at the plate.”
Louisville Recap —
The Gamecocks started the day with a 5-3 win over Louisville. Kenzi Maguire led the Gamecock scoring effort with a 2-for-3 day coupled with two RBI.
Carolina got on the board first as the visitors in the top of the second as Maguire drove home two runs with an RBI double.
The Cardinals scored one in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Gamecock lead to 2-1 before the Gamecocks answered in the fifth thanks to Jana Johns platting a run to extend the lead to 3-1.
Louisville responded again in the bottom frame before Alyssa VanDerveer answered right back with a solo home run in the sixth to give the Gamecocks a 4-2 lead after six.
Both teams traded one more run respectively as the Gamecocks went on to the victory.
Bradley Recap —
The Gamecocks blitzed the Bradley Braves from the start, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to a quick 3-0 lead.
Five more Carolina runs in the second inning quickly put the game out of reach for the Braves as the Gamecocks extended their lead to 8-0.
Freshman Kelsey Oh earned her third victory of the season in five innings of work. She allowed just two hits while striking out five.
NOTES —
The Gamecocks have scored at least one run in all 13 games this season. Dating back to last season, Carolina has done so in 14 of its last 15 games.
Head coach Beverly Smith improved to 239-179 with the wins. She is the second-winningest coach in school history.
The Gamecocks won both games today to move to 12-1 on the year and their ninth-straight victory of the year. Carolina last won 10-straight games in 2016. The program last had an 11-game winning streak in 1997.
With hits today, Mackenzie Boesel extended her season-high and team-high hitting streak to nine games. Kenzi Maguire has now reached base in all 13 games to start the season, as well.
Carolina finished the day with 17 hits between eight different batters. Four Gamecock hitters (Alyssa VanDerveer, Kenzi Maguire, Kamryn Watts and Mackenzie Boesel) finished the day with three or more hits.
UP NEXT —
Carolina continues its trip in Orlando in the D9 Citrus Classic with two more games against Miami (Oh) and South Alabama. First pitch is set for 12:30 PM ET against the Redhawks while the second game against the Jags is schedule for 5:30 PM ET. Live stats and updates will be provided on Twitter.
