The Chanticleers will close their 23-game homestand against the Gamecocks.
March 21, 2011
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GAME 28
COASTAL CAROLINA (14-12) HOSTS SOUTH CAROLINA
Date: Tuesday, March 22
Times: 6 p.m.
Place: Coastal Carolina Softball Field, Conway, S.C.
Live Stats: Gametracker via www.GoCCUSports.com
TV/Live Video: via Big South Network
Chants Set To Host South Carolina
The Coastal Carolina University softball team (14-12) will conclude its 23-game homestand as it hosts South Carolina on Tuesday, March 22 at 6 p.m. It will be the second meeting this season between the Chanticleers and the Gamecocks after they faced each other in the Palmetto State Showdown with South Carolina winning 5-0.
Scouting South Carolina
The Gamecocks enter Tuesday coming off a five-game losing streak, having lost their most recent weekend series at Auburn and a doubleheader against Georgia. South Carolina is currently 3-1 against Big South schools with their only loss to Winthrop in the first meeting at the Palmetto State Showdown. The key hitters for South Carolina are junior outfielder Lauren Lackey, sophomores Samie Garcia and Hannah Milks, and freshman Dana Hathorn. Lackey leads the team with a .385 batting average and a .429 on-base percentage. Garcia has totaled 19 runs on 30 hits so far this season. Milks is 11-for-11 in stolen bases this season and is second on the team in runs scored at 18. Hathorn leads the Gamecocks with 20 RBI so far this season. The top three pitchers for South Carolina are freshman Julie Sarratt, sophomore Audrey Broyles, and senior April Borchardt. Broyles leads the trio with a 2.91 ERA in 53.0 innings pitched and a .208 opponent batting average. Sarratt leads in strikeouts with 37 and is tied with Broyles in game starts and complete games at ten and three. Borchardt has the best record at 4-2. Junior third baseman Evan Childs, who sees a lot of playing time for the Gamecocks, is a Conway local.
Series vs. South Caroina
Currently, the Gamecocks lead the overall series 41-6. The last time the Chanticleers defeated South Carolina was on April 21, 2010 as Coastal won 4-3.
Weather Forecast
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, 82 degrees.
Pineda Makes Herself At Home
Junior transfer Chelsea Pineda had her best week as a Chanticleer at the Chanticleer Challenge despite the team going 0-6 in the tournament. She led the team with a .467 batting average, .933 slugging percentage and a .529 on base percentage. She recorded multiple hits in two games and registered her second and third home runs of the season while finishing the weekend without any strikeouts.
Coastal Finishes Longest Homestand in Program History
After Tuesday’s game against South Carolina, the Chanticleers will have finished their 23-game homestand, the longest homestand in program history. The Coastal squad finished the span with a 13-9 record after one game was cancelled due to inclement weather. The next longest consecutive home span was in 1992 when the Chants played 19-straight games at the CCU Softball Field. Last season, Coastal played a 15-game homestand. During this season’s 23 consecutive home games, junior Chelsea Pineda led the team with a .305 batting average, but freshman Brooke Donovan was not far behind with .303 and led the team with 23 hits.
Winans Season Hitting Streak Ranks Second in Big South
After six weeks of play, freshman Jessie Winans has the second longest season hitting streak in the Big South at eight. Stephanie Sbardella of Charleston Southern is currently the leader with nine consecutive games with at least one hit. Junior Chelsea Pineda has the longest active hitting streak at four to tie for third in the conference.
Piccirillo Finds Her Bat at Chanticleer Challenge
Sophomore Olivia Piccirillo finally found her bat this season, slamming her first home run of the season against Providence College on March 19. Piccirillo came in to pinch hit in the bottom of the seventh inning with the Chants down 2-1 and cut the lead to one with her dinger. Against Kansas on March 20, she went 2-for-3 at the plate, earning two RBI for Coastal.
Productive Bench
Already this season, Coastal Carolina has scored 87 runs as a team and 23 of those runs have come off the bench from either a pinch runner or pinch hitter. With so much speed on the bench, it means that approximately 26% of the Chanticleers’ runs scored have come from players on the bench. Freshman Courtney Howell leads the pinch runners with eight runs scored while freshman Brooke Donovan leads the starters with 12 runs scored.
Tough Road Ahead...
In this week’s polls, two teams the Chanticleers have already played and one team the squad will play this week are either ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes. Stanford is holding down the #10 spot on the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Poll and the #13 spot on the USA Today/NFCA Division I Poll. Georgia Tech is receiving votes in both polls and Kansas is receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll.
Up Next
The Chanticleers travel to the west coast to play in the Stanford Invitational March 25-27. Coastal will face #10/13 Stanford, Pacific, UC Riverside and Sacramento State.
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