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Softball Hits The Road For College Station
Softball  . 

Softball Hits The Road For College Station

Carolina to face off against Texas A&M in three-game series

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- No. 23 South Carolina softball returns to conference play this week as it travels to Texas A&M for a three-game series that’s set to open Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The two teams return to action Saturday at 4:00 p.m. before closing the weekend Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
 
All three games will stream on SEC Network+ and will feature a live radio stream through www.12thman.com. Live stats will be provided for the weekend through gamecocksonline.com. Tickets are still available through the link listed above.
 
Carolina returns to the road for the first time since a March 7 win against North Carolina. The Gamecocks posted five wins over the course of its home stand since the victory over the Tar Heels.
 
In accordance with Texas A&M and SEC rules, all guests traveling to College Station this weekend will be required to wear a face covering/mask at all Texas A&M Athletic venues. Social distancing will be required in all parts of the stadium. Spectators are required to maintain 6 feet of social distancing from other individuals not in the individual’s household.
 
All tickets will be digitally scanned, guests must hold their own ticket throughout the entry process. Hand sanitizer dispensers available at every entry.
 
GAMECOCKS IN THE SEC… AND TEXAS

  • South Carolina comes into the SEC weekend with a 260-354 (.413) record all-time in SEC play.
  • The Gamecocks have won the SEC once in program history (1997, the first year of the conference). Carolina went 25-1 that year in SEC play on its way to a first-place finish in the SEC East Division.
  • Carolina has won 20+ SEC games in a season twice (1997 and 2002) and has won 10+ 13 times (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2015 and 2018).
  • The Garnet and Black posted a 9-14 record in 2019 SEC play. Carolina went 1-2 last year with a series loss to Georgia before the season was ended.
  • Carolina has played deep in the heart of Texas 15 times under the direction of head coach Beverly Smith, posting a 6-9 record.
  • If you’re going to play in Texas… You’ve got to have a Texan in the band. Lake Jackson native Anna Vest is set to return to her home state for the final time in her career.
  • South Carolina posted a 1-2 record the last time it played Texas A&M in College Station (2018). Cayla Drotar led the way with three hits while Kenzi Maguire had a team-best three RBI. Kelsey Oh earned the Sunday afternoon win in 2.1 innings of work with one hit, no runs and two strikeouts.

 THE PAST WEEK… FOUR WINS SO U-C(F) IT WAS A GOOD WEEK

  • No. 24 South Carolina softball posted a 4-1 week with two top-20 wins over UCF this past week.
  • The Gamecocks outscored their foes 37-17 (+20) on the week while hitting .343 batting average.
  • Karsen Ochs, Leah Powell and Kelsey Oh earned the four wins. Powell led the way with a 2-0 week. She produced a 0.51 ERA in 13.2 innings of work with nine strikeouts.
  • Kassidy Krupit posted a team-best seven RBI while Aaliyah White had a team-high five hits. Kenzi Maguire was a free base machine, picking up four walks and six hit by pitches.
  • As a team, Carolina drew 26 walks and took 11 hit by pitches on its way to a .503 on-base percentage.
  • South Carolina took advantage at the plate when the opportunity presented itself as it hit .327 as a team with runners in scoring position.
  • The Garnet and black had at least one free base in each of the five games last week. For the season, its drawn at least one walk or hit by pitch in 22 of the 24 games.
  • Carolina drew 10 walks in the first game of the week against Gardner-Webb, which tied the school record for walks in a game in the Beverly Smith era.

 THIS IS CAROLINA… TRADITION LIVES HERE 

  • South Carolina softball has made 22 trips to the postseason, a number that started in 1982. The Gamecocks have reached two super regionals and three WCWS. In conference play, Carolina owns two SEC Championships.
  • Carolina rolls into the 2021 season with a 45-48 record all-time in those crucial postseason games and a 14-15 mark under Beverly Smith.
  • Fans and opponents have become accustomed to seeing the Gamecocks play on Sundays in the postseason. Carolina has reached the regional final four-straight completed years. The Gamecocks are 2-3 in those past five Sunday games.
  • A historic trend Carolina will look to change is its record against host schools in regionals. Since 1982, the Gamecocks are just 2-11 against host schools and 0-7 under Smith. On the flip side, South Carolina is 4-2 at home in the postseason under Smith having advanced to just the program’s second super regional in 2018 with two win-or-go-home games against Liberty.

THE GAMECOCKS

 THIS NEW CLASS… IT’S A 10/10

  • South Carolina will have 10 newcomers on the 2021 roster. The group (Maddie Gallagher, Carlie Henderson, Kylee Gleason, Zoe Laneaux, Aaliyah White, Skylar Trahan, Leah Powell, Carly Robbins, Riley Blampied and Chooch Carroll) bring a mix of power and speed to the plate and plenty of versatility defensively.
  • Two newcomers (Gallagher and Blampied) bring national team experience with them after playing on the gold winning U-17 squad this past summer.
  • The freshmen class is comprised of five infielders, two outfielders, two pitchers and one catcher.
  • Majors in the group include pre-business (Gallagher), retailing (Henderson, Laneaux, Trahan, Powell, Blampied and Carroll), exercise science (Gleason), cardiovascular technology (White) and biological science (Robbins).

 GUESS WHO’S BACK… BACK AGAIN. GO TELL A FRIEND. 

  • They aren’t Slim Shady… but the four 2020 Carolina seniors are back to finish what they started in 2021. Cayla Drotar, Lauren Stewart, Kenzi Maguire and Mackenzie Boesel all announced over the summer they’d be returning.
  • With their return, nine of the top-10 individual batting averages from the 2020 season will return for this upcoming year. The returning pitching staff of Bailey Betenbaugh, Drotar, Kelsey Oh and Rachel Vaughan bring back 12 of Carolina’s 17 wins in 2020 (71 percent) and its lone SEC winner in the circle last year (Ochs).
  • As a team, Carolina brings back 85 percent of its 2020 runs scored, 86 percent of its hits, 83 percent of its doubles, 85 percent of its home runs and 87 percent of its RBI.
  • Boesel returns looking to secure her spot as one of the all-time greats at Carolina. She comes into her final season as one of just five Gamecocks ever to be in the top-10 for 10 or more career offensive records and is on pace to break many of them. Off the field, she’s also a three-time Academic All-American.

THAT’S… INTERESTING 

  • South Carolina will have at least one student-athlete on from the state of California for the 26th-consecutive year dating back to 1994 in 2021. With a signing class that includes two more (Marissa Gonzalez and Emma Sellers), the streak could continue on for three decades.
  • Kenzi Maguire’s 2021 season will be her sixth season in Columbia, meaning she’s been here for more than half of the Beverly Smithera (11 years).
  • Carlie Henderson won’t be the first in her family to achieve at a high level in sports. Her grandpa, Billy Shaw, played football at Georgia Tech and went on to play offensive line for nine years with the Buffalo Bills before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999. Her father, Chip, played baseball at Shorter University and has been the baseball head coach at Calhoun High School for 26 years. He’s won more than 600 games with three state titles (and had eight players drafted into MLB).
  • Maddie Gallagher has actually played for one of her teammates. Maguire was her assistant coach this past year on Gallagher’s travel ball team. The team was coached by Maguire’s dad, Kevin, and was based out of Tampa, Fla., even though Gallagher lived in Port Washington, N.Y.

 
 

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