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Gamecocks Head to No. 12 Georgia for All For Alex Weekend
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Gamecocks Head to No. 12 Georgia for All For Alex Weekend

All For Alex

RV South Carolina Gamecocks 32-12, 7-8
RV South Carolina Gamecocks 32-12, 7-8
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#12 Georgia Bulldogs 34-10, 12-5
#12 Georgia Bulldogs 34-10, 12-5
Athens, Ga. | Turner Softball Stadium

ATHENS, Ga. – The South Carolina softball team heads to 12th ranked Georgia for a three-game SEC series April 21-23. Saturday’s game will be broadcast on the SEC Network. It will also be the All For Alex day across the conference, where each team will be wearing teal for ovarian cancer in honor of former Mississippi State player Alex Wilcox, who passed away in 2018.

The Gamecocks, who are receiving votes in the most recent NFCA coaches poll, will be looking for its first series win over the Bulldogs since 2016. Carolina is 9-23 all-time on the road, with its last series win in Athens coming in 2001.

GAMEDAY INFORMATION – All For Alex Weekend
When: April 21 | 6:30 p.m.; April 22 | noon; April 23 | noon
Where: Athens, Ga.
Venue: Turner Softball Stadium (1,400)
Series History: Georgia leads 43-32
Last Meeting: South Carolina 7, Georgia 3 | March 13, 2022 | Columbia, S.C.

RV South Carolina Gamecocks 32-12, 7-8 SEC
Coach: Beverly Smith | 13th Season
AVG Leader: .343 | Brooke Blankenship
RBI Leader: 35 | Riley Blampied
Home Run Leader: 8 | Jordan Fabian
ERA Leader: 2.48 | Donnie Gobourne
Strikeout Leader: 128 | Donnie Gobourne
Wins Leader: 8 | Donnie Gobourne

#12 Georgia Bulldogs 34-10, 12-5 SEC
Coach: Tony Baldwin | 2nd Season
AVG Leader: .379 | Jayda Kearney
RBI Leader: 42 | Sara Mosley
Home Run Leader: 17 | Jayda Kearney
ERA Leader: 1.41 | Shelby Walters
Strikeout Leader: 107 | Madison Kerpics
Wins Leader: 16 | Shelby Walters

LEADING OFF

  • The 2023 season will be the 50th season of Carolina Softball.
  • The Gamecocks remained 28th in the most recent RPI.
  • Carolina was ranked in two polls this week, #24 by Softball American and #25 by D1 Softball. It also received votes in both the ESPN/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA polls.
  • Donnie Gobourne was selected 17th overall (5th round, 1st pick), in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch Draft Monday night by the Oklahoma City Spark.
    • She becomes the first Gamecock drafted professionally since Samie Garcia in 2013 by the NY/NJ Comets of the former National Pro Fastpitch league.
  • Head coach Bev Smith earned her 400th career win against UNC on March 1.
    • She became the 29th active head coach in Division I to amass 400 career victories while only coaching at one school.
  • Against #23 Texas A&M, the Gamecocks shut out the Aggies in back-to-back games for only the second time this season, the other came against No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 UCLA, which they combined for 10 hits in those two games. The Gamecocks allowed only 10 hits in the three-game series.
    • It was the first time in program history the Gamecocks swept a ranked SEC opponent while being unranked.
    • It was the first SEC series win for Carolina while being unranked since sweeping Ole Miss April 29-30, 2014.
  • South Carolina batters were hit five times against Florida (3/31), the sixth most in a game this season in Division I.
  • Donnie Gobourne carried a no-hit bid down to the last strike in the top of the seventh in against #11 Florida (4/2) before surrendering a hit.
    • She became the first Gamecock to throw a one-hitter since Kelsey Oh against Charleston Southern on April 7, 2021.
    • She finished with 15 strikeouts to become the first Carolina pitcher to record 15 in a game since Melissa Hendon against the College of Charleston (2/22/07).
    • Her 15 strikeouts in a game rank 25th among DI pitchers this season.
  • The series win over the Gators is the first for the Gamecocks since sweeping them during the 2003 season.
  • It’s the first SEC series win, and first SEC series win over a ranked opponent, since defeating Auburn in 2019.
  • Carolina leads the SEC in: stolen bases per game (2.14), total stolen bases (94), doubles (66), doubles per game (1.50), and fielding percentage (.981).
  • The Gamecocks rank 7th in the country in fielding, 14th in stolen bases, 14th in doubles, and 19th in stolen bases per game.
    • They are also rank 20th in on-base % (.401), 27th in winning percentage (.727), 28th in scoring per game (5.95), and 29th in doubles per game.

OUCH…THAT HURT!

  • The Gamecocks have three players listed among the current active NCAA leaders in hit by pitches entering the week.
  • Jordan Fabian ranks 18th in DI and 35th among all Divisions with 36.
  • Natalie Morgan ranks 20th in DI and 39th overall with 34.
  • Jen Cummings ranks 22nd in DI and 43rd overall with 33.

JUST WALK ON BY…

  • Jordan Fabian ranks 33rd among active career leaders in Division I and 50th among all division for walks with 91.

GAMECOCKS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

  • South Carolina is 157-371-1 (.298) against opponents ranked in the NFCA top 25 since 1995.
  • Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 78-128 (.379) at home, 37-170 (.178) on the road and 43-72-1 (.375) in neutral-site outings.
  • This season, the Gamecocks have defeated #14LSU, #11 Florida twice, and #16 Alabama.
  • In 2022, the Gamecocks went 4-22 against ranked opponents. Earning victories over #13 Kentucky, #15 Georgia, #19 Auburn, and #24 UCF.

For the latest on South Carolina Softball, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team’s social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockSoftbll, Facebook /GamecockSoftball, and Instagram @GamecockSoftball.

 

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