Gamecocks handle Tar Heels 9-1 in softball home opener
South Carolina’s softball team was prepared Wednesday for strong offensive effort from North Carolina.
The Gamecocks (4-1) countered with solid pitching and defense – and an offensive outburst of their own – in a 9-1 victory in five innings at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
Junior pitchers Jessica Elliott (3-0) and Nickie Blue combined on the one-hitter. Elliott scattered four walks over four innings and gave up a second-inning triple.
Senior outfielder Alaynie Page drove in two runs in the fifth to end the game. With the win, USC leads the all-time series vs. UNC 50-13 and has won three of the last four meetings.
“North Carolina is a potent offensive team,” USC coach Beverly Smith said. “The fact that we didn’t have to come back and pitch more innings and put pitches on Nickie’s arm will help going into this weekend and having four games in our tournament.”
UNC (2-4) averaged 5.4 runs in its season-opening tournament and scored almost 7 per contest last season.
Stars of the game: Page and fellow senior outfielder Ansley Ard each drove in two runs. Junior first baseman Kaylea Snaer went 2-for-3, the only player on either team with multiple hits.
Turning point: USC plated six runs in the fourth inning, sparked by aggressive base running. Hesitation by the Heels’ defense on a grounder allowed sophomore Jordyn Augustus to score, and sophomore Krystan White plated the go-ahead run after a bad throw home by UNC starter Kendra Lynch.
They said it
Alaynie Page: “It’s always fun to get that walk-off hit. We want to win all of our home games. That’s something that’s important to us.”
Beverly Smith: “From the circle we did a nice job and defensively took care of the ball. Our hitters made great adjustments there in the fourth inning and put some pressure on North Carolina’s defense.”
Up next
The Gamecocks host the Carolina Classic this weekend. UNC Greensboro, Ohio, Longwood and Winthrop make up the field of the three-day round-robin event. The Gamecocks face UNC Greensboro at 5 p.m. Friday.
This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 6:14 PM.