USC Takes Two Tight Games on Day 2 of Gamecock Invitational

By: USC SID

COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) — South Carolina (17-2) persevered through its second game on Saturday, utilizing a big defensive play and a clutch hit from junior first baseman Kaylea Snaer to take a 5-4 (10) victory over Connecticut (3-13) in the Gamecock Invitational.

Snaer came through in the bottom of the 10th with a one-out single to center, scoring freshman Kennedy Clark from second. The duo played a huge role in the top of the 10th ending still tied. With one out and a runner at third, Taylor Townsend hit one into right. Clark, charging hard, caught it on a short hop, which froze the runner at third. Clark fired a strike to Snaer to get Townsend, while Snaer wheeled and threw to home, where senior catcher Jordan Bizzell tagged the runner sliding by to end the frame with a double play.

Both teams scored in the ninth. Husky Kate Sims, who had walked in each of her previous four trips to the plate, including a bases-loaded walk in the fourth that gave UConn a 3-2 lead, grounded one to the right side, which allowed Ally Hernandez score from third. The Gamecocks answered on a ground out in the bottom half, as freshman Kenzi Maguire’s hot shot to first took the fielder to the bag and let Bizzell score from third.

The Huskies took a 1-0 lead in the third thanks to a Gamecock error. With the bases loaded and one out, Lexi Gifford lifted a fly to shallow right that was caught. The throw came home, and the runner at third stayed put. The runner at second, however, had gone halfway, and the Gamecocks tried to throw behind her to get her, but that ball went wide of second, letting Jacklyn Dubois score from third.

South Carolina’s freshman put the team up 2-1 in the bottom of the third. Singles by Alexis Mack and Maguire set up a two-RBI double by Clark with two outs. But UConn recaptured the lead in the fourth, as Alyson Ambler had a two-out RBI single followed by the Sims walk.

The Gamecocks knotted it at 3-3 in the fifth when Clark came through again, doubling Mack home after she legged out an infield single.

Gamecock junior Nickie Blue (6-2) came in and shut down UConn’s offense in her six innings of work. She scattered four hits and two walks along with the unearned run in the ninth. Her one strikeout ties her with Angie Lear (1988-91) for 10th in Gamecock history. Jill Stockley (3-5) took the loss, allowing two unearned runs on five hits and a walk in five innings. She struck out three.

Game Changer:
The 10th-inning double play fired up the Gamecocks, propelling them to the win.

Key Stat:
The Huskies left 16 runners on base, while the Gamecocks stranded 11.

Notables:
• Clark doubled twice in her 3-for-5 day, the only extra-base hits tallied in the game.
• Mack posted her first career four-hit day, scoring twice in the 4-for-5 effort.
• Three other Gamecocks reached twice: senior Alaynie Page (2 BBs) along with sophomore Krystan White (1 H, 1 BB) and Tiara Duffy (1 H, 1 HBP).
• Four other Gamecocks had hits
• Ambler went 2-for-3 for the Huskies, while Townsend and Alyssa Gardea both collected two walks
• The three Gamecock errors are a season worst.

Up Next:
South Carolina closes the Gamecock Invitational against Kennesaw State in the championship game at 3 p.m. EST. UConn and Michigan State will play twice starting at 10 a.m.

GAME ONE RECAP:

Gamecocks Break Past Spartans 8-7
Bizzell scores game-winning run when she breaks up tag play at the plate

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Gamecocks (16-2) used an infield single and gutsy base running to take an 8-7 victory from Michigan State (9-8) on Saturday as part of the Gamecock Invitational.

South Carolina senior catcher Jordan Bizzell was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the seventh and moved to second on a ground out. After a walk, freshman right fielder Kennedy Clark topped one that rolled halfway up the first-base line for a hit. Bizzell rounded third when she saw no one covering and dove home, jarring the ball free from the Spartan catcher to score the game-winning run.

MSU took a 2-0 lead in the first on Kaitlyn Eveland’s two-RBI double. The lead didn’t stand long, as senior left fielder Alaynie Page led off the Gamecock half of the first with a solo shot to left center, her third of the year. Junior designated player Victoria Williams tied things with a sacrifice fly, scoring freshman shortstop Kenzi Maguire, while Clark made it 3-2 when she scored on a Spartan error.

Michigan State tied the game at 3-3 on Sarah Gutknecht’s grounder to first in the third, letting Lea Foerster score from third. The Gamecocks retook the lead in the bottom half when an illegal pitch brought home sophomore second baseman Krystan White from third. Spartan Celeste Wood tied it again in the fifth with her single through the right side, scoring Foerster, but South Carolina answered with junior third baseman Taylor Williams’ solo home run to right with two outs in the fifth. The Spartans tied it in the top of the sixth on Kassidy Kujawa’s pinch-hit blast to center.

Page led off the sixth with a double that the Spartan right fielder almost caught with a sliding effort at the line. She moved to third on Maguire’s sacrifice bunt. A hit-by-pitch to Clark put runners at the corners and brought in a new Spartan pitcher. A walk loaded the bases, and sophomore second baseman Krystan White punched a 2-2 pitch through the left side, scoring two to make it 7-5 Gamecocks. But Michigan State tied things again in the top of the seventh, as Foerster followed Ebonee Echols’ double with a homer to center.

Gamecock junior Nickie Blue (5-2) picked up the win in relief, throwing five innings total, giving up five earned runs on six hits while striking out three. Kristina Zalewski (3-5) took the loss, allowing one earned run on two walks and two hits in 1.1 innings.

Game Changer:
Bizzell forced the action, heading home to an uncovered base, and the play paid off for a Gamecock win.

Key Stat:
South Carolina was hit six times in the game and drew six walks.

Notables:
• Blue moved into a tie for 10th in career appearances with former All-American Darlene Lowery (1983-87) with her 101st game.
• She also took over 11th in career innings pitched, leaping two others, and into 11th in strikeouts, passing Audrey Broyles.
• Page moved into ninth on South Carolina’s career total bases charts with her homer in the first, passing fellow All-American Michelle Delloso (1988-91).
• Page went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, two extra-base hits and an RBI.
• Page’s double ties her for 18th on the career charts with Amber Curtis (2001-04).
• Maguire reached base four times, twice on walks and twice on HBPs.
• Bizzell reached twice on walks and once on an HBP.
• MSU’s Foerster and Wood both went 3-for-4, with Foerster scoring three runs to go with her two-run homer.