Gamecocks Run Rule Georgia Southern

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- No. 20 South Carolina softball scored seven runs with two outs on its way to a 9-1 run-rule victory over Georgia Southern on Wednesday night at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. Katie Prebble’s two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth sealed Carolina’s eighth run-rule win of the early season.
 
Prebble and Kenzi Maguire shined at the plate. Prebble finished with five RBI, a South Carolina career best for her, on three hits with a home run. Meanwhile, Maguire posted a 3-for-4 night with four runs scored and three RBI.
 
Cayla Drotar (1-0) earned the victory in the circle in her first game of the 2021 season. It was her first action in uniform since her outing against Virginia Tech in Clearwater, Fla., on. Feb. 14, 2020. She pitched three innings with no hits or runs allowed and struck out five Eagle hitters.
 
“That was a great game,” head coach Beverly Smith said. “For me, it was good to see Cayla Drotar back on the mound. It really has been almost a year since she’s been out there. She’s done a great job of getting healthy and coming back for us. Then for Kenzi Maguire to open up the game with a home run, then for us to end it with a home run was really exciting. Katie Prebble is seeing the ball big right now and she’s such a powerful hitter. I thought she did a great job.”
 
South Carolina (12-3, 0-0 SEC) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first with Maguire’s second home run of the year to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead through one. The scoring later continued in the third with Prebble’s double to the gap in right center to push the lead to 3-0 through three.
 
Two more runs came in the fifth thanks to a pair of Maguire and Prebble singles extended the Garnet and Black’s advantage to 5-0 through five. Georgia Southern’s (5-9, 0-0 Sun Belt) lone run of the night came in the top of the sixth via a one-out single to make it 5-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth.
 
Maddie Gallagher and Maguire RBI in the bottom frame eventually set up Prebble’s walk-off home run with two outs as the Gamecocks defeated Georgia Southern 9-1.
 
Carolina finished the night with 11 hits as three different Gamecocks (Mackenzie Boesel, Maguire and Prebble) produced with multi-hit performances. Kassidy Krupit, Chooch Carroll and Gallagher added hits, as well.
 
NOTABLE

• South Carolina finished with 11 hits on the night, marking the eighth time this year it has posted 10 or more hits in a game.
• With the win in the circle, Cayla Drotar (1-0) became the sixth different Gamecock pitcher to earn a win this season. Bailey Betenbaugh (4-0), Rachel Vaughan (2-0), Kelsey Oh (1-2), Leah Powell (3-0) and Karsen Ochs (2-1) have wins, as well.
• Mackenzie Boesel is off to a stellar start this year. She’s leading the way with a .479 batting average on 23 hits with five doubles, three home runs and 16 RBI.
• The Garnet and Black earned its eighth run-rule win in 13 victories this season. For comparison, Carolina had just five in 2020.
• Katie Prebble’s walk-off home run was her third game-ending play at Carolina. She had two in 2020 (one home run, one double).