Gamecocks Sweep Missouri
April 22, 2018
COLUMBIA, S.C. –No. 12 South Carolina softball used early offense and timely pitching in a 6-2 win over Missouri on Sunday at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field to earn the series sweep. The sweep of the three-game series was Carolina’s second of the season and the program’s first over the Tigers.
The Gamecocks continued on with momentum built in the first two games of the series to jump out to an early 4-0 lead through three innings on Sunday. Carolina scored all six runs in three innings as it added two more in the fourth to earn another conference sweep.
Cayla Drotar (16-4) was outstanding once more in the circle, going all seven innings with a pair of strikeouts to lead Carolina to its 11th conference win of the season. The 11 wins ties a Carolina high under the direction of head coach Beverly Smith.
With Sunday marking the 37th win of the season, the Gamecocks find themselves just three wins away from 40 on the year. This would be the first time since 2003 Carolina has won 40 or more games in a season if the Gamecocks were to reach the mark.
South Carolina (37-11, 11-7 SEC) traded a scoreless first with the Tigers, keeping Missouri off the bases in the first inning for the first time in the series. Following the scoreless first, Carolina scored the next three innings to take the commanding advantage it wouldn’t surrender.
Alyssa Kumiyama brought home the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Jordyn Augustus to make it 1-0 Gamecocks. Kenzi Maguire later singled to left with two outs to bring home Tiara Duffy and Krystan White to extend the lead to 3-0 through two.
The offense continued in the third with Alyssa VanDerveer‘s solo home run to make it 4-0 Carolina. The moon shot was her second of the series and tenth of the season.
Maguire and Mackenzie Boesel both brought home runs in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-1 after Missouri’s home run in the top of the fourth.
The Tigers attempted once last comeback effort in the sixth with a solo home run but Drotar shut the door the remaining six outs.
Carolina finished the day with nine hits from five different players. Maguire, Boesel, VanDerveer and Kennedy Clark accounted for the multi-hit performances.
Notes
- With today’s win, Carolina improved to 37-11 (11-7 SEC) on the year. Carolina is 21-2 at home on the year and has taken all three home series (No. 2 Tennessee, No. 20 Arkansas and Missouri) thus far. The Gamecocks are 3-0 this year at home in Friday SEC games and have taken at least one game in six sets this season.
- Seem like Carolina turned a lot of double plays this weekend? Well, they did. Carolina recorded three in the first two games and one on Sunday. The seven total double plays is a season high for an SEC series for the Gamecocks.
- With eight games remaining in the regular season, Carolina has surpassed last season’s win total with 37. With three wins this weekend, the Gamecocks have also surpassed last seasons victory mark in conference play (eight wins). The 11 overall SEC wins ties a program high under Beverly Smith.
- Head coach Beverly Smith moved to 264-189 after Sunday’s games. She is the second-winningest coach in school history.
Up Next
No. 12 South Carolina hits the road for one game on Wednesday at 6:00 PM ET at USC Upstate. Live stats will be provided on gamecocksonline.com.
