Gamecocks Split Games on Day One at USF Under Armour Showcase
Doubleheader Synposis:
TAMPA, Fla. March 8, 2013 – South Carolina (13-4) split its first two games in the USF Under Armour Showcase on Friday, dropping Massachusetts (2-7) 13-4 in six innings before falling to USF (12-10) 5-3. Senior catcher Shelby Gonzales went 4-for-6 in the twinbill, driving in runs in each with a double against the Minutewomen and her first homer of 2013 in the second. The Gamecocks take on Northwestern and Villanova on Saturday.
Game 1 Recap:
Gamecocks Down UMass 13-4 in Six Innings to Start USF Under Armour Showcase
Freshman Alaynie Page scored four runs, hit a three-run homer in the win
TAMPA, Fla. – Gamecock freshman Alaynie Page had a banner day with four runs scored and a three-run homer in South Carolina’s 13-4 win in six innings over Massachusetts (2-7) in the first game of the USF Under Armour Showcase at the USF Softball Stadium.
Page went 2-for-3 with that homer and a walk, while she stole two bases. The Gamecocks (13-3) stole three more, by freshman Ansley Ard and juniors Brooke Barnhill and Codee Yeske. Senior catcher Shelby Gonzales went 2-for-3 with an RBI double, and junior designated player Ashlyn Masters went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
The Gamecocks went on top for good in the third thanks to a pair of Minutewomen errors. Page started the inning with a single, stole second and scored on a dropped fly in right that allowed junior second baseman Dana Hathorn to reach. Hathorn scored later after the right fielder tried to throw her out at third on a foul out, and the throw got away from the UMass infield, making it 4-3 for the Gamecocks. Page put it out of reach in the third with a three-run homer, scoring Yeske and senior shortstop Samie Garcia after they reached on a hit and a walk, respectively.
South Carolina got out to a 2-0 lead with runs in the first two innings. Junior Ashlyn Masters had an RBI single in the first, scoring Page after a one-out walk and her first stolen base, while Gonzales blistered a ball to center for a double in the second, scoring the pinch runner Barnhill after she came on for sophomore first baseman Olivia Lawrence. The Minutewomen took the lead in the bottom of the second on a three-run homer by Lindsey Webster, scoring Teea Rogers and Olivia Godin after they both drew walks.
UMass made it 7-4 in the fifth on Cyndil Matthew’s RBI single, scoring Rogers after she reached to start the inning on a fielding error by the Gamecock first baseman.
The Gamecocks closed things in the sixth with six runs in the frame. Ard scored on a wild pitch, while Page scored her fourth run on the first of UMass’s three errors in the inning. Sophomore centerfielder Kristen Struett drove in freshman Lauren Masters with a single, while Ashlyn Masters scored when the ball got away from the UMass left fielder. The Gamecocks loaded the bases, and two runs scored on Ard’s grounder that caused the third baseman to stumble.
Redshirt sophomore Julie Sarratt (2-1) got the win in relief, giving up one unearned run on two hits and two walks while striking out four. Caroline Raymond (1-3) took the loss, giving up nine runs, six earned on seven hits and four walks.
Garcia reached twice on walks but saw her hitting streak snapped at 15 games. The top three in the order, Garcia, Page and Hathorn, all reached safely, extending all three’s skeins to 16 for reaching base safely.
Game 2 Recap:
South Carolina Falls at USF 5-3
Gamecocks get homers from Shelby Gonzales, Julie Sarratt
TAMPA, Fla. – Despite homers from senior catcher Shelby Gonzales and redshirt sophomore first baseman Julie Sarratt, South Carolina (13-4) could not hold off USF (12-10), as the Bulls won a 5-3 decision over the Gamecocks on Friday afternoon at the USF Softball Stadium.
Gonzales went 2-for-3 with the solo blast, while Sarratt had a two-run shot for the Gamecocks. Senior shortstop Samie Garcia went 2-for-4 and stole a base, while four other Gamecocks had hits. Stephanie Medina led USF with a 2-for-3 day, getting a two-run homer and an RBI double. Mo Santos also had a homer in a 2-for-3 day for the Bulls.
The Bulls used a three-run fifth to take the final lead. Santos started the inning with a solo home run, tying the game at 3-3. Medina doubled home D’Anna Devine to give USF the lead, and Medina scored an insurance run on the next play after a Gamecock error.
Medina gave USF an initial 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the first, plating Devine after she started the contest by being hit by a pitch.
South Carolina cut the lead in half with Gonzales’ monster shot out to left in the third and took the lead in the fourth on Sarratt’s two-out blast to center, scoring sophomore centerfielder Kristen Struett as well after she got a one-out hit.
The Bulls’ Sara Nevin (5-4) got the win in relief, throwing three shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out two. Redshirt senior Audrey Broyles (4-2) took the loss, allowing five runs, four earned, on five hits and a walk. She struck out two in 4.2 innings of work. Freshman Katie Marks allowed a hit and fanned one in 1.1 innings of relief for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina takes on Northwestern and Villanova on day two of the USF Under Armour Showcase, playing on Field 8 at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Cleartwater, Fla. Saturday’s first pitch against the Big Ten’s Wildcats is set for 9:30 a.m. EST
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