Carolina travels to face 49ers looking to extend hot streak
The USC softball team traveled to Fort Myers, Fla. this past weekend for the FGCU Tournament.
It left a champion.
After dropping the first game of the weekend to Villanova, the Gamecocks rallied to win four straight — including a last-inning triumph over those same Wildcats — to win the tournament title.
Now, USC will look to keep momentum as it heads north to take on UNC-Charlotte this afternoon. USC coach Beverly Smith said the team will try to keep those positive vibes against the 49ers (5-4).
“Coming out of the tournament as champions ... and [with] five players named to the tournament team, I think those things will play a role in making improvements to our team,” Smith said.
Perhaps even more notable than the tournament title for the Gamecocks was the come-from-behind victory over Villanova in their second bout. USC scored four runs in the seventh inning. Late-inning wins were a rarity for the team last season, and Smith said she was proud of them for not giving up.
“I’m pleased to see that our team has that fight to the last out,” Smith said.
The bats have come alive for South Carolina recently, as it scored 29 runs over the weekend.
Samie Garcia, a transfer student, leads the Gamecocks with a .400 batting average and 14 hits.
“I think the girls are starting to get a good feel,” Smith said. “We’ve seen different styles of pitching. I think they’re more confident in being aggressive. I think we’re just building on every victory now.”
If they want to keep the confidence going, South Carolina will likely have to deal with Charlotte’s ace, Katy Hackett, who has a 2.00 ERA this season.
Smith had not yet named a starter for tonight’s game, but gave credit to the pitching staff for performing well across the board. South Carolina has started four different pitchers so far, and each has at least one win.
Freshman Julie Sarratt has started off her career with an unbelievable stretch of games. In three starts, she has thrown a no-hitter in one game, and a shutout in another.
The only pitcher yet to start is senior April Borchardt. However, she has appeared in six games and has an ERA of 0.98.
Smith said the fielding has also improved. Through the final four games of the weekend, the Gamecocks only committed one error on a field that Smith described as a “slapper’s paradise.”
“That was a difficult surface to play on,” Smith said. “The ball took some really odd hops there, so I thought our fielders did a great job of getting their bodies in front.”