No. 22 Gamecocks Host No. 17 Tigers for Palmetto Series Finale

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 22nd ranked South Carolina softball team will look to clinch a point in the Palmetto Series Presented by the South Carolina Education Lottery, when the Gamecocks host No. 17 Clemson Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

A very limited number of tickets will be available for purchase at the ticket tent prior to first pitch. Fans are highly encouraged to arrive early. The first 200 fans will receive a Palmetto Series Presented by the South Carolina Education Lottery t-shirt.

Series Information
Series History: Clemson leads 5-2
Last Meeting: South Carolina 6, Clemson 4 (11) | March 20, 2024 | Clemson, S.C.
Series History
H: 1-3   A: 1-2
4/21/1979 – H – W, 24-5
4/21/2021 – H – L, 6-0
3/30/2022 – A – L, 8-1
4/12/2022 – H – L, 3-1
3/28/2023 – A – L, 10-0 (5)
4/11/2023 – H – L, 4-3
3/20/2024 – A – W, 6-4 (12)

#22 South Carolina Gamecocks 28-12, 4-8 SEC
Coach: Beverly Smith | 14th Season
AVG Leader: .355 | Carlie Henderson
RBI Leader: 26 | Riley Blampied
Home Run Leader: 5 | Kianna Jones
ERA Leader: 0.62 | Reganne Bennett
Strikeout Leader: 86 | Sage Mardjetko
Wins Leader: 12 | Alana Vawter

#17 Clemson Tigers 27-11, 11-4 ACC
Coach: John Rittman | 5th Season
AVG Leader: .365 | McKenzie Clark
RBI Leader: 35 | Valerie Cagle
Home Run Leader: 9 | McKenzie Clark
ERA Leader: 0.87 | Regan Spencer
Strikeout Leader: 84 | Valerie Cagle
Wins Leader: 8 | Brooke McCubbin

LEADING OFF

• The 2024 season will be the 51st season for the Carolina Softball team.
• Carolina received votes in three polls last week. They are ranked No. 22 by NFCA/USA Today, and No. 25 by ESPN/USA Softball and by Softball America.
• Alana Vawter was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week last week.
• Carolina trails the all-time series with Clemson 5-2. The Gamecocks won the first meeting in 1979.
• The Gamecocks won earlier this season at Clemson 6-4 in 12 innings.
  • It was the longest game for Carolina since a 4-3 loss to Arkansas on April 15, 2000.
• The Gamecocks earned a walk-off win over Winthrop last Wednesday in 11 innings.
  • It’s the fourth time this season Carolina has played 10-plus innings, the most in Division I.
• It’s the most 10-plus inning games in a season since 1995, while 1986 holds the record with five. Carolina also played four in 1988.
• Carolina is tied for the most extra inning games this season in Division I with 8 (Rutgers and Troy).
• The Gamecocks swept Ole Miss over the weekend, their first SEC road sweep since 2013 (4/26-28, at Mississippi State).
• The 2-0 win in nine innings over Ole Miss was the longest shutout for the Gamecocks since a 1-0 win over Longwood on Feb. 11, 2017, also in nine innings.
• Aniyah Black hit a pair of home runs in the win over Charleston Southern. It’s the second multi-home run game of her career (Texas A&M, 4/16/23).
• Carolina turned a triple play in the third inning against Charleston Southern, the first in the recorded history of Carolina softball (since at least 2000).
  • It’s the fourth triple play recorded this season in Division I.
• Carolina combined to shutout then-No. 24 Boston U, earning a 3-0 victory in eight innings.
  • It was the first time the Terriers had been shut out this season.
• Carolina recorded three straight shutouts during the Garnet & Black Invitational.
• Jori Heard threw a perfect game in the 4-0 win over Bethune-Cookman on March 2. It was the first 7-inning perfect game in Division I this season.
  • Heard’s perfect game is the 11th in program history, as she becomes the seventh Gamecock pitcher to earn perfection.
  • It was the first perfect game for South Carolina since Melissa Hendon against Pittsburgh on March 4, 2007.
  • Six of Carolina’s 10 previous perfect games came between 1995 and 1997 and were thrown by either Trinity Johnson (5) or Darlene Gareis (2).

VAWTER ON THE NATIONAL STAGE

Alana Vawter joined the Gamecocks after an outstanding four-year career at Stanford. Her awards list in long, but she also ranks among the nation’s active career leaders in a myriad of pitching categories:

• She ranks first in not only Division I but among all NCAA players in:
  • Game started: 118
  • Innings pitched: 791
• Ranks second in DI and fifth overall in wins (88)
• Ranks second in DI and fourth overall in complete games (79)
• Ranks third in DI and seventh overall in shutouts (29)
• Ranks third in DI and NCAA in appearances with 153
• Ranks 16th in DI in ERA with a 1.78
• Ranks 16th in DI and 34th overall in strikeouts at 602

OUCH…THAT HURT!

• Jen Cummings ranks 3rd in DI with 49 career high by pitches.
• She also ranks 5th among all divisions.

IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME

• South Carolina is 260-125 (.675) at home during the Beverly Smith era, which includes a 4-1 record at home while hosting a regional at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
• Carolina has finished .500 or better at home 10 of Beverly Smith’s 13 years.
• Prior to 2021, South Carolina had not lost double digit games at home in seven years and has won 20 or more seven of the past eight seasons (2020 included).

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS IS NOTHING NEW FOR SC

• South Carolina is 268-69 (.795) over the past nine years in games outside the SEC. Notable wins include Clemson, Boston U, Utah, Texas, Penn State, Houston, Arizona State, North Carolina, Florida State, California, Virginia Tech, USF, Long Beach State, Hofstra, Liberty, and UCF.
• Carolina had won 26-straight non-conference games (regular season) before a loss to Texas Tech in the second weekend of the 2020 season.

GAMECOCKS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• South Carolina is 166-388-1 (.300) against opponents ranked in the NFCA top 25 since 1995.
• Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 81-135 (.375) at home, 40-179 (.183) on the road and 46-73-1 (.388) in neutral-site outings.
• This season, they’ve defeated #16 Mississippi State, #11 Clemson, #24 Boston U and #13 Utah.
• In 2023, the Gamecocks went 12-16 against ranked opponents. Earning victories over #3 Florida State, #4 Tennessee, #13 Georgia, #11 Florida (twice), #14 LSU, #16 Alabama, #16 Auburn (twice), and #23 Texas A&M (three).

SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL RECORD

• South Carolina has played 2,616 games in its softball history, going 1,685-924-7 (.646) in its 51 years of history.
• The Gamecocks have posted 30 or more wins in eight of the past 10 full seasons under the direction of head coach Beverly Smith.
• Carolina has protected home well, also, with 17 or more victories coming in friendly confines each of the past eight full years.

CAROLINA RUNS THIS STATE

• Under the direction of head coach Beverly Smith, Carolina owns an 89-12 mark against other Palmetto State schools.
• That mark includes a 31-game winning streak that stretched over five seasons before Coastal Carolina snapped the streak in 2017.
• South Carolina went 7-2 last season against in-state foes.

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.