Gamecock softball beats Lehigh, extends 12-game win streak
 ORLANDO, Fla. –No. 24 South Carolina softball extended its season-high winning streak to 12 games with a commanding 15-0 win in five innings over Lehigh on Sunday to close out the D9 Citrus Classic at the ESPN Wide of Sports Complex. Two South Carolina grand slams, one by Tiara Duffy and Jana Johns, sparked the Gamecocks to victory as Carolina finished the week 6-0.
Johns led the way at the plate for the Gamecocks, going 3-for-3 with seven RBI. Duffy also shined, going 1-for-1 with four RBI. Duffy sparked the Gamecock scoring effort in a big way in the second, as she blasted a grand slam to centerfield to extend the lead to 5-0 through two. Kelsey Oh (4-1) went the distance in the circle allowing just three hits while striking out five. “Tiara has been having fantastic at bats,” head coach Beverly Smith said. “I thought for sure she was going to get us a hit. She put a great swing on a good pitch. I loved the grand slam. It was the spark we needed.” The Gamecocks struck early and often in the dominating win over Lehigh. Jana Johns RBI-single in the first to score Kenzi Maguire gave Carolina an early 1-0 lead and from there on the Gamecocks never looked back. After Duffy’s pinch-hit grand slam in the second, Carolina continued scoring in the third as Alyssa Kumiyama singled to right field to score Johns and make it 6-0. The lead was extended to 10-0 in the fourth thanks to Kennedy Clark, Johns and Alyssa VanDerveer bringing home four runs. Five more runs were plated in the fifth thanks to Clark drawing a walk before Johns’ grand slam. The Gamecocks finished with nine hits from six different batters. |
