Gamecocks host No. 3 Tennessee after being swept in last two series
The South Carolina softball team has endured a long, challenging SEC season thus far, and it isn’t going to get any easier for the Gamecocks this weekend as they take on the No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers.
This series comes a week after USC (23-23, 3-16 SEC) was swept at the hands of the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Tennessee will be the third team ranked in the top six that the Gamecocks have played in a series this season.
USC is 0-5 in the previous two series, but did show signs of life last weekend at Alabama, scoring 10 runs in the three games. This was an improvement from the four the team put up against Florida and the zero they scored at home against LSU.
“With the way our schedule is set up, it kind of has worked out perfectly that we have seen the top pitching in the conference, going from Georgia, Alabama and now Tennessee,” said head coach Beverly Smith. “We are seeing a very high level of pitching and we have handled it well. So for me, the timing is perfect with the Tennessee pitchers coming here and now, we have the confidence to handle it.”
Even though Smith’s hitters have started to gain confidence in their swings, her pitchers must to restore their confidence after giving up 19 runs in five innings during the last game of the Alabama series.
“To be a successful softball pitcher, you have to be able to have a short memory,” Smith said. “The things that we want to remember and talk about are the good outings so we will get them refocused and ready to play Tennessee.”
The lone bright spot during the 19-4 rout Sunday was that South Carolina broke the school’s record for home runs in a season. Sophomore Chelsea Hawkins blasted the team’s 39th homer of the year in the second inning, breaking the previous record set in 2003. The Gamecocks will have a chance to extend the record with nine regular season games remaining.
As a team, 11 of the 16 position players have hit at least one home run on the season, with three having at least seven long balls (Samie Garcia 7, Hawkins 7 and Evan Childs 10).
“I’m so proud of the team and the way they have worked,” Smith said. “They have put in the time and I think that is something the girls really committed to. Our hitting coach Calvin Beamon has done a great job with the kids and they’ve bought in. You can see the improvements and I am very proud of the record.”
These last two final home series will be very important for the Gamecocks in regard to the SEC tournament. A strong finish could get them in, and anything is possible after that.
But first, they must get past the Volunteers and sophomore pitcher Ellen Renfroe, who is 23-3 with a minuscule 1.18 ERA. Of Renfroe’s 26 starts, 20 have been complete games and 14 have been shutouts. She also has 246 strikeouts in 189.2 innings pitched.
“All of our SEC games are certainly tough,” Smith said. “And I tell you, the Florida and Alabama games certainly showed you that we can go toe-to-toe with these teams.”