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Gamecocks To Start Postseason In SEC Tournament
Softball  . 

Gamecocks To Start Postseason In SEC Tournament

Carolina set to open tournament against Florida on Wednesday

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- No. 20 South Carolina softball is set to open the 2019 postseason in the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Wednesday against Florida at Davis Diamond in College Station, Texas. First pitch is set for 1:30 PM ET on SEC Network with Adam Amin, Amanda Scarborough and Tiffany Greene on the call. 
 
The opening round game will be a rematch of the 2018 SEC Championship. The winner will move on to face LSU on Thursday at noon ET on SEC Network. 
 
For more information on the tournament, parking and tickets visit 12thman.com
 

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 WEEK 

  • South Carolina softball will be the No. 11 seed in the SEC Tournament next week in College Station, Texas. The Gamecocks will face Florida in the opening round on Wednesday at 1:30 PM ET on SEC Network. 
  • With 12 SEC wins on the year the Gators earned the No. 6 seed and will meet the Gamecocks for the first time in 2019 in a rematch of the 2018 SEC Tournament Championship. 
  • Joining South Carolina on its side of the bracket is No. 7 seed Missouri and No. 10 seed Auburn. The winner of the Carolina game will face No. 3 seed LSU while the winner of the other contest will move on to play No. 2 Tennessee. 
  • No. 12 seed Mississippi State will play No. 13 seed Texas A&M in the opening game of the tournament with the winner moving on to face No. 5 seed Ole Miss. No. 8 seed Georgia and No. 9 seed Arkansas will also meet on Wednesday on that side of the bracket. The victor in the Ole Miss game will move on to play No. 4 seed Kentucky while the winner of the other contest will face No. 1 seed Alabama. LSU, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky were the four teams to earn first-round byes.

NOTES AND TRENDS HEADING INTO THE WEEK

  • South Carolina comes into the weekend looking to build its resume with one last chance to impress the selection committee in the SEC Tournament.  
  • Carolina comes into the week having hit at least one home run its past eight games and two or more in five of them. Jana Johns as led the way with four in just her past three games. 
  • Johns has been tearing it up over the past 10 games at the plate. She’s batting .387 with six home runs and 11 RBI on her way to slugging 1.000. 11 free bases, including eight walks, have helped her to a .548 on-base percentage. She has also scored 11 runs during the stretch. 
  • There have been a couple notable trends this season surrounding the Gamecocks and scoring. Carolina is 26-1 when it scores at least six runs and 27-5 when it scores first. In contrast, the Gamecocks are just 10-15 when scoring less than six runs and 9-11 when the opponent plates one first.

THE GAMECOCKS IN THE SEC TOURNAMENT 

  • South Carolina set the tone for SEC softball, taking home the first conference tournament title in 1997 as Trinity Johnson earned Tournament MVP honors in Columbus, Ga. 
  • Carolina has two SEC Tournament championships to its name. The first coming in 1997 and the second just three years later in 2000. Megan Matthews Buning was honored as the Tournament MVP while Joyce Compton coached the Gamecocks to both championships. 
  • The Gamecocks have reached the tournament finals four times (1997, 2000, 2001 and 2018). That mark is the fifth-most appearances in finals game. 
  • Overall South Carolina has won 20 tournament games (sixth-most in SEC history) as the Gamecocks won two last season on their way to the tournament championship. Under the direction of Beverly Smith Carolina has taken home five wins in the tournament. The program is 20-21 (.488) all-time at the tournament. 

2018 SEC TOURNAMENT – RUN BACK TO THE SHIP 

  • A magical 2018 regular season for Carolina was followed with a memorable 2018 SEC Tournament as the Gamecocks won their first two games over Mississippi State and Arkansas to reach their first SEC Championship Game appearance since 2001. 
  • It started against Mississippi State as Cayla Drotar earned the win in the circle going all seven innings in the 3-1 victory. Kenzi Maguire, Drotar and Alyssa Kumiyama plated runs in the contest. The Bulldogs attempted a comeback in the seventh with a run but it wasn’t enough as Drotar allowed just four hits all day. 
  • The Tournament continued against Arkansas in a 3-1 victory with Dixie Raley going all seven innings in the circle. She allowed just five hits with seven strikeouts as Kenzi Maguire and Tiara Duffy plated runs. Duffy notably blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the first to help Carolina break the school record for home runs in a season. 
  • A matchup with the Florida Gators in the championship didn’t go how the Gamecocks wanted as they dropped a 3-1 contest. Cayla Drotar plated the lone Carolina run but Kelsey Oh took the loss in five innings of work with four hits and four strikeouts. 

OTHER WINS IN THE TOURNAMENT UNDER SMITH 

  • In 2013 at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Ky., Carolina earned its first SEC Tournament win under Beverly Smith. The Gamecocks took down host Kentucky in a 6-3 victory. Redshirt sophomore Julie Sarratt tosses a complete game to help the Gamecocks to the win. 
  • In 2015, Carolina returned to Lexington as it took down Texas A&M in a 6-3 game in the opening round. Senior Olivia Lawrence tied the game in the sixth with a solo homer before Victoria Williams sent a ball to the gap in right center to score three and give the Gamecocks the eventual 6-3 victory. 
  • In 2016, the Gamecocks took down Missouri in a 7-4 victory in eight innings in Starkville, Miss. A two out, pinch-hit home run to score three off the bat of junior Taylor Williams in the eighth gave Carolina a tournament win for the second-straight year. 

LAST 10 COMING INTO COLLEGE STATION 

  • Carolina comes into the SEC Tournament with a 6-4 record over its past 10 games while outscoring teams 56-37 with 18 home runs and a .382 team on-base percentage. 
  • The Gamecocks took two games from UNCG and a game over USC Upstate over its bye week. Carolina outscored the pair 25-9 with six home runs while slugging .688 in three games. 
  • South Carolina dropped its series to Georgia, 2-1. Cayla Drotar had a team-best four RBI. 
  • Carolina dropped its series to Missouri, 2-1, over the weekend.

For more information on the Gamecocks, continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com. 

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