Gamecocks Set To Hit The Road For Auburn

FULL NOTES

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- No. 16 South Carolina softball returns to SEC action this weekend when it hits the road for a three-game series against No. 12 Auburn. The series opens Friday at 7:00 PM ET on SEC Network + while it continues Saturday at noon ET on SEC Network. The Tigers and Gamecocks conclude the set Sunday at 2:00 PM ET on ESPNU. 

Carolina comes into the weekend riding a three-game winning streak and has won four of its last five games. 
 

THE GAMECOCKS 

• Carolina comes into the 2019 season looking to build upon a 49-17 season in which the Gamecocks reached the program’s second ever super regional after winning the Columbia Regional. 
• The Gamecocks welcome five freshmen and transfer Katie Prebble to the program this season to bring the Gamecocks to 19 active members. 
• Head coach Beverly Smith has been keeping the local talent home recently, as the Gamecocks have five South Carolina natives on roster and two of the last three South Carolina Gator Players of the Year. 
• Carolina won’t be lacking arms this season with five available coming into the new season, leaving 14 fielders. Freshman Rachel Vaughan comes in as coach Smith’s first left-handed pitcher during her time at South Carolina. 

THE UPCOMING WEEKEND 

• The Gamecocks closed out a streak at home of five-straight games this Wednesday as they out-slugged Furman in a 9-7 win before hitting the road this weekend. 
• South Carolina continued SEC play last weekend, as it earned its first series win of the year over No. 4 Alabama. It marked the fourth series win over the Crimson Tide since 2000 and the first under Beverly Smith. Dixie Raley earned back-to-back SEC wins in a series for the first time in her career. 
• Carolina returns to SEC action this weekend for another tough test, this time against No. 12 Auburn in Auburn, Ala. The Tigers come into the weekend having won six of their last 10 and sit in third place in the SEC heading into the weekend. Carolina will look to take the series for the first time since 2014 and first time in Auburn since 2013. 
• South Carolina came into the week with the 20th-most home runs per game in the country and 18th-best slugging percentage. Jana Johns is third in the NCAA in hit by pitches per game while Cayla Drotar is third for saves.  

NOTES AND TRENDS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND 

• South Carolina comes into the weekend looking to build upon a three-game winning streak as the Gamecocks have won four of their last five games coming into the Auburn weekend. 
• Carolina has two player (Mackenzie Boesel and Kennedy Clark) batting .300 or better in the 38 conference games over the last two years. Boesel is hitting .345 with five home runs and a .426 on-base percentage. Clark is batting .306 with 21 runs scored. 
• Multiple players come into the weekend with notable SEC streaks. Mackenzie Boesel has a hit in the last six conference games  while Jana Johns has reached base in the last seven contests. Kennedy Clark has also reached base in the last six SEC games while Madison Owens has a hit in the last three. 
• There have been a couple notable trends this season surrounding the Gamecocks and scoring. Carolina is 21-0 when it scores at least six runs and 22-3 when it scores first. In contrast, the Gamecocks are just 8-11 when scoring less than six runs and 7-8 when the opponent plates one first. 

DIXIE DOMINATES ALABAMA WEEKEND 

• Carolina got a much needed SEC win with a 2-1 series victory over No. 4 Alabama this past weekend. Dixie Raley went 2-0 on the weekend as SC got its first series win over the Tide since 2009. 
• Raley earned the win in the Saturday and Sunday games going 12 innings with just one run allowed. 
• For her efforts, Raley was named SEC Pitcher of the Week for the first time in her career this past weekend. 
• Mackenzie Boesel hit .556 with a homer, double and 2 RBI with .636 on-base percentage during the series.

HOW TO WATCH THE GAMECOCKS IN 2019

• ESPN has shown some respect for the Gamecocks in the preseason, giving the program at least 30 games on the Family of Networks. 
• Carolina will have 21 home games broadcast as well nine road contests. 
• The Gamecocks first nationally televised game comes on March 24 against Ole Miss with a game on SEC Network. 
• South Carolina will have five games on SEC Network, two on ESPNU, two on ESPN2 and one on ESPN.

ANOTHER TOUGH SCHEDULE

• Something that has become a regular thing for the Gamecocks under Beverly Smith, South Carolina is set for another tough slate in the 2019 season. 
• Carolina will face at least five top-15 teams and seven top-25 squads according to the USA Softball rankings at the start of the season. 
• The road schedule in the SEC (Auburn, LSU, Arkansas and Missouri) will be ultra-tough as those squads combined for a 104-17 (.860) record at home last season. 
• Based on the latest RPI, South Carolina has played 18 games against teams in the top-50 and is set for 9 more this year.

GAMECOCKS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS 

• South Carolina is 137-316-1 (.293) against opponents ranked in the NFCA top 25 since 1995. 
• Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 65-102 (.358) at home, 30-146 (.154) on the road and 43-67-1 (.407) in neutral-site outings.
• Last season, the Gamecocks went 8-14 against ranked teams, including an 8-1 record in home games. The Gamecocks notably swept Tennessee and Mississippi State in home series against ranked teams last year. The Gamecocks also took two of three games against Arkansas, as well. 
• In road games, the Gamecocks notably won a road series at Ole Miss to star the SEC season and earned their first win over Texas A&M since 2015.