Gamecocks to play Blue & Gold Feisburg Memorial tournament hosted by FIU
The Gamecocks softball team travels to Miami this weekend for the Blue & Gold Feisburg Memorial tournament hosted by FIU.
After coming off the first tournament win at the Palmetto Classic, the 3-1 softball team will be looking to continue to stoke the flames of the early season fire in their weekend tournament in Miami. The Gamecocks will play five games. The first game of the tournament will be played against Providence, followed by: Florida International, Jacksonville, Villanova and Illinois-Chicago.
“Being able to draw on success on the weekend will propel us into Miami; there will be good competition,” coach Beverly Smith said “We’re hoping to go in and win, but there is a lot of parity within softball so it’s not going to be easy.”
The Gamecocks should not meet too much resistance at the Blue & Gold Feisburg Memorial tournament. Three of the five teams have begun their seasons with a below .500 record, while two teams will just be starting their season in the tournament. Despite all of this, coach Smith is not expecting to roll over the competition.
“Every opponent is a worthy opponent. Records from previous seasons don’t mean anything. For me, there is too much parity. All the teams are well rounded,” said Smith.
Senior Evan Childs will be looking to continue her personal success that is helping to put the team into winning positions. Childs has a four game season batting average of .463, with her last performance being a 4-4, 3 RBI and a homer game.
“That’s my expectation for her,” Smith said. “We need her to stay hot; she has been practicing very well. What she does in practice is what she does in games. She is going to be a great player for us.”
Carolina’s pitching staff should make short work of the struggling teams. Junior Audrey Broyles will be entering the tournament after pitching a strong 8 inning win in her previous start and looking for a repeat performance. Another member of the circle, freshman Katelynn Howser, could possibly have another big weekend as well.
“Katelynn has gotten some good innings underneath her belt. Her ERA is low and hitters haven’t been able to do much against her. It’ll be nice to see what she can do,” Smith said.
USC will begin the tournament today in sunny Miami against the Providence Friars. The two teams met last year with Carolina prevailing in an 8-5 victory. However, coach Smith stresses that previous statistics do not mean anything in the new season.
“We played them last year and had a good match, so there is some sense of familiarity. But its going to be all about us playing and limiting their chances,” Smith said. “We’ve got to go out there and perform and get the job done.”