The Daily Gamecock

South Carolina to face tough competition in California

<p>South Carolina junior outfielder Alaynie Page leads the Gamecocks in batting average (.514), home runs (6) and RBIs (19). </p>
South Carolina junior outfielder Alaynie Page leads the Gamecocks in batting average (.514), home runs (6) and RBIs (19). 

Two weeks into the season, the South Carolina softball team is preparing to travel to Cathedral City, California for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. With the right mindset, plenty of confidence and strong play as of late, the Gamecocks are looking for another positive outing after going 4-0 last weekend in the Gamecock Invitational with victories over Appalachian State, Presbyterian, North Carolina and College of Charleston.

The tournament will start for the Gamecocks Thursday afternoon in a double-header against LIU Brooklyn and No. 9/8 Florida State. South Carolina will then go on to play Stanford on Friday night, No. 21/20 California Saturday night and end against Northwestern Sunday afternoon.

The Gamecocks are currently 8-2 on the season, after their sweep in the Gamecock Invitational. This strong performance gives the team some confidence heading into a tough weekend.

“We gained some confidence from playing well and added that into our normal practice routine,” South Carolina head coach Beverly Smith said. “We’re just gearing up to face some tough competition.”

South Carolina will have to deal with some new challenges this weekend, including the fact that two of its opponents are ranked teams. The Gamecocks went 6-13 versus ranked opponents in 2014. With that said, Smith’s team say they feel as if they are very ready for the test and are anxious to compete against some very good teams, including Florida State. The Seminoles made it to the women’s College World Series last season and are expected to have another successful season.

“Our toughest opponent will probably be FSU,” junior outfielder Alaynie Page said. “They went pretty far last year and they like to compete like we do and every other good team. It will be our best matchup. We’re excited just to show them what we have and play a good game.”

Page’s play has been one of the main reasons behind South Carolina’s success this season. The Boiling Springs, South Carolina native leads the Gamecocks in most major batting statistics including batting average (.514), home runs (6) and RBIs (19).

After some huge wins last weekend, the Gamecocks took what they did well and applied that to practice. South Carolina trained just like they would for any other game and worked on fixing the small things.

Having a good mentality going into games is also something that has played a huge part in the Gamecocks’ good start to the season. Being in the right mindset can make all the difference, which is what will help South Carolina in the future, according to South Carolina sophomore pitcher Nickie Blue.

Through 10 games, Blue has made eight appearances on the mound and has a team-best 0.37 ERA in 38.1 innings pitched.

“Our mentality is there, and will set us apart and let us really compete,” Blue said. “We have killer instincts this year. We’ll find a way to do everything.”

Carrying over the confidence the team has earned will help the Gamecocks tremendously as they compete in California, but they’re always looking to find new ways to improve and better themselves.

“We’re definitely ready, and we’re confident,” Page said. “We need to focus more on our ball and not the opponent. If we just compete to our ability and not worry about who we are facing, we’ll be fine.” 

As far as facing some new and tough opponents goes, South Carolina isn’t too concerned. The way Smith sees it, it’s still early in the season, but they have already shown the strengths they possess as a team.

“Our team is ready,” Smith said. “We have the talent and the ability, we have to go out with the belief we can accomplish our goals and beat them.” 


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