LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky softball team will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak when it travels to take on Southeastern Conference foe South Carolina this weekend in Columbia. The three-game conference series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 21, followed by a single game on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 1 pm both days.
The Wildcats hosted No. 1 Tennessee last weekend and dropped all three rainy contests to fall to 19-21 on the year and 4-15 in the SEC. UK has lost eight of its last 10 and is looking for its first league win since defeating Ole Miss on Mar. 25 in Lexington.
Kentucky won the season series a year ago in Columbia, taking two out of three from the Gamecocks. South Carolina leads 26-9 in the all-time series despite two straight wins by the Wildcats.
USC is currently 29-16 on the year and is third in the Eastern Division with a 7-10 league record. The Gamecocks swept a three-game set from Georgia last weekend. They fell 1-0 to North Carolina earlier this week in a non-conference game and have won four of their last 10 contests.
McKenna Hughes leads the Gamecock offense, batting .326 with eight home runs and 33 RBI. Ashton Payne is also above the .300 mark, hitting .319 with 15 RBI, 20 runs scored and a team-high 11 stolen bases. USC has a team ERA of 1.43 which ranks them fourth in the SEC. Melissa Hendon leads the pitching staff with a record of 14-11 to go along with 186 strikeouts. Kate Pouliot adds 123 strikeouts and a 13-4 record, while both hurlers have an ERA of 1.35.
The Wildcats continue to produce offensively. Senior Brooke Marnitz leads all of Division I with 19 home runs (0.5 per game), while Katie Campbell is 26th nationally with 12 homers (0.3 pg). Marnitz also leads the SEC with 52 RBI, 117 total bases and a .967 slugging percentage. Campbell adds 36 RBI and is now tied for second all-time at UK with 111 career runs batted in. Freshman Natalie Smith is second on the team, batting .383 with 32 runs scored. She leads the team with four triples and eight stolen bases, while fellow rookie Molly Johnson is batting .341 with nine doubles, six homers and has scored 29 times.
?We still have a chance to make the tournament,? said third-year head coach Eileen Schmidt. ?If we focus on one thing at a time and on the immediate task, we will be fine. We need to continue the offensive output, while now working harder on getting the big stop defensively and on the mound.?
