Gamecocks advance to SEC Championship with 3-1 win over Arkansas

Mike Gillespie,

COLUMBIA, Mo. — No. 12 South Carolina broke the school record for home runs in a season on its way to a 3-1 win over No. 19 Arkansas in the first semifinal game of the SEC Softball Tournament at Mizzou Stadium on Friday. Tiara Duffy blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth as the Gamecocks fought their way to their first SEC Tournament Championship appearance since 2001.

The Gamecocks never trailed as Dixie Raley posted one of her finer performances of her Carolina career. Raley went all seven innings, allowing just one run on five hits with seven strikeouts.

South Carolina (45-13) knew what a win today would mean, and delivered early. After the teams traded a scoreless first inning, Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to Kenzi Maguire’s RBI single to score Jana Johns.

Duffy continued the scoring in a big way two innings later with a two-run home run to score Johns and extend the lead to 3-0 over the Razorbacks.

Arkansas made a comeback effort in the top of the sixth with a run of its own, but Raley retired the final five batters to punch Carolina’s ticket to the championship game.

Carolina finished the day with seven hits from seven different batters.

No. 12 South Carolina faces Florida in tomorrow’s tournament championship game at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN2. Fans can also catch the game on the SEC Radio Channel on Sirius XM while live stats will be on social media.

Categories: Local Sports, Sports, USC Gamecocks

Related Posts