The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 21, 2005, Page 9, Image 9
USC drops championship game to Syracuse
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman pitcher Kate Pouliot winds up for a pitch earlier this season.
USC lost to Syracuse in Sundays tournament championship game.
By STEPHEN FASTENAU
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Syracuse pitcher Courtney
Mosch was on her game Sunday,
and there was little USC could do
to stop her.
The sophomore pitcher threw a
complete one-hitter and helped her
own cause by belting a home run of
her own as the Orange knocked off
the Gamecocks 10-3 in the
championship game of the
Sunshine Tournament.
All three Gamecock runs were
unearned, as Mosch took a perfect
game into the bottom of the fifth
inning before junior catcher Ashley
Smith drew a lead-off walk.
Freshman third baseman Becky
Martinez followed by drawing a
second walk, and a ground ball
advanced the runners to second
and third with one out. Mosch’s
wildness continued as she hit
senior infielder Kristin Hall with a
pitch to load the bases.
Freshman catcher Kristi
Hutchins bunted and a subsequent
Syracuse error brought two runs
across the plate to make the score
8-2 and keep the game from
ending because of the mercy rule.
Syracuse shortstop junior Alexis
Switenko started things off by
blasting a two-run homer in the
top of the first inning. Mosch then
followed with a blast of her own to
give the Orange a quick 3-0 lead.
Freshman Chanel Roehner
sparked another three-run rally for
Syracuse in the third. Roenher was
driven home by a Switenko double
following a double of her own.
Switenko then scored on a passed
ball. An RBI double by senior
Jaime Grillo extended the Syracuse
lead to 6-0.
Two more Syracuse runs in the
fourth inning and two in the sixth
capped the scoring.
The Gamecocks went 1-2 in
round-robin play but knocked off
Southeastern Louisiana on
Saturday afternoon to advance to
the championship game Sunday
morning.
USC won its initial game Friday
afternoon against SLU 3-1 behind
the pitching of junior Melanie
Henkes. Henkes allowed just one
run on five hits, recording seven
strikeouts to just one walk.
Sophomore McKenna Hughes
broke open a scoreless game in the
third inning with a two-run, two
out home run to give the
Gamecocks a 2-0 lead.
The Lions got on the board in
the fourth with an RBI single by
sophomore Rebecca de la Garza to
cut USC’s lead in half. Henkes
settled down, and the Lions
stranded two runners to end the
inning.
Freshman shortstop Lisa Longo
doubled in the sixth inning to score
Hughes. Henkes secured the USC
win by retiring SLU in order to
end the game.
Freshman pitcher Jessica Barnes
dropped her second game of the
season as No. 18 Florida State beat
USC 4-2 in the Gamecocks’
second round-robin game.
Syracuse slipped by USC in the
last game of round-robin action.
USC stranded two runners in the
bottom of the seventh and lost 2-1.
The Gamecocks then defeated
SLU for a second time to face
Syracuse again for the
championship.
USC freshman outfielder Jessica
Josker and senior first baseman
Megan Cornett were named to the
all-tournament team.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecoeksports@gwm.sc.edu
■ FINALLY
Continued from page 8
half. Going up for a rebound,
Simms sprained her right knee and
missed the remainder of the game,
watching the second half from the
bench on crutches. An MRI exam
was scheduled for after the game.
“Marverly Nettles was playing
well,” Alabama coach Rick Moody
said about his leading scorer picking
up her fourth foul with 42 seconds
remaining in the first half. “If your
team has a fragile mind, you don’t
know what will happen (in
unpleasant situations). But look at
Simms with the knee injury. USC
could’ve gone down but instead
came back with a lot of energy.”
Alabama did take advantage of
the brief effect the injury had on the
Gamecocks, going on a 7-0 run to
close 28-25 before a 30-25 game at
the half. Both teams continued to
trade baskets at the beginning of the
second half before Tide senior
Monique Bivins hit two free throws
with 13:34 left in the half to close
the gap to three points, 42-39. With
the game the closest it had been
since there was over a minute
remaining in the first stanza, Booker
rounded out her scoring with five
more points to help pull Carolina
away for good.
“Carolina came out today, and
even under the circumstances they
have had, they came with a lot of
energy,” Moody said. “They did
everything better than us.”
When the public-address
announcer stated one minute
“Carolina came out
today, they have had,
they came with a lot of
energy They did
everything better than
us.”
RICK MOODY
ALABAMA COACH
remained in the game, the Colonial
Center crowd stood up and cheered
the Gamecocks non-stop until the
conclusion of the game, including
during an Alabama timeout.
Booker’s game resembled her
previous effort this season against
the Tide on Jan. 20. Her 19-point
performance yesterday established a
new career-high scoring total
against an SEC opponent. The
previous high was set in the earlier
Alabama game in which she scored
16 points. She torched the Tide this
time on 8-of-12 shooting, including
3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
“We hit threes today which took
Alabama out of their zone,” Walvius
said of her team’s 35 percent effort.
“They went back to their man
defense, and we continued to go
inside. I’d give us a ‘B’ in execution.”
Also playing well for the
Gamecocks was the international
quadruplet of junior forward Olga
Gritsaeva, sophomore forward Iva
Sliskovic, sophomore guard Lea
Fabbri and freshman center Ilona
Burgrova. Gritsaeva played a key
role after the injury to Simms,
picking up six points and six
rebounds in 32 minutes. The other
three rounded out the double-digit
scoring for Carolina. Sliskovic
contributed 10 points, six boards
and four assists. Fabbri added 11
points and two steals, while
Burgrova put up 13 points, two shy
of her career high.
“I thought the inside effort was
very good,” Walvius said. “Iva is
coming along strong. I was really
glad to see Ilona step up today.
That’s what we see in practice
everyday.”
The Gamecocks return Thursday
night for the final home game of the
season. Tip-off against Kentucky is
set for 7 p.m., as Carolina attempts
to work for a second conference
victory _and the possibility of
improving last season’s mark.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
■ SWEEP
Continued from page 8
“That’s about as good as we
could play,” USC coach Ray
Tanner said. “I was glad to see us
come out and swing the bats
early.”
The Gamecock offense could
get another boost next weekend
as senior infielder Steve Pearce
returns to the lineup after serving
his six-game suspension. The
Gamecock bullpen will also get
some much-needed fresh arms,
as five pitchers will return to the
dugout next weekend for the
Niagara series.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
■ HOOPS
Continued from page 8
over again, he would have put
forward Renaldo Balkman in the
game to neutralize Felix.
Carolina certainly couldn’t stop
Bama’s 3-point shot coming out of
halftime, as the Crimson Tide lit up
the Gamecocks for four treys within
the first four minutes, effectively
putting the game totally out of
reach by stretching the lead to 20
points.
The entire second half was a
misery for Carolina. Though the
Gamecocks shot well, Alabama
played that much better. Once
Bama got its lead to 20 points,
Carolina was only able to cut it to
less than 20 on two occasions — at
the 10:34 mark off a 3-pointer by
guard Josh Gonner and after a dunk
by Powell as the clock ran out.
The loss to the Tide puts
pressure on USC to take care of its
last four regular season opponents
in order to make the NCAA
Tournament. The Gamecocks’ task
begins in Knoxville, Tenn., against
the Tennessee Volunteers at 7:30
p.m. Wednesday.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gatnecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
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