April 21, 2004
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Senior pitcher Stacey Johnson recorded her first career solo no-hitter Wednesday evening as the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Furman Lady Paladins 6-0 in game one of a doubleheader. This marks the second no-hitter of the season for USC and the 41st for the program. McKenna Hughes went 3-for-4 with a run and Meghan Cornett went 1-for-2 with a run and three RBIs.
Johnson had a perfect game for 5.2 innings until Kristin White walked on a full count. That would be only base runner for the Lady Paladins. USC improved to 23-18 while Furman fell to 12-38. Johnson is now 15-8 and Henley is 9-18.
USC took a 1-0 lead in the first when Cornett scored on an RBI single by Amber Curtis. In the third, the Gamecocks added a run when Kristin Hall recorded a hit to right field and drove in Hughes.
The Garnet and Black took a 3-0 lead in the fourth when Chrissy Schoonmaker reached on an error, stole second and eventually scored on a fielder’s choice.
In the sixth, USC had the bases loaded with one out before Jennings scored on a wild pitch. With runners at second and third, Cornett then singled up the middle to drive in Schoonmaker and Crane and gave USC a 6-0 lead. For the inning, USC recorded five hits.
After two groundouts in the seventh inning, Johnson struck out Jessica Matthews for the final out and guaranteed herself a spot in the USC record books. Johnson is now just two wins away from tying her career best in season victories. The Newtown, Pa. native earned 17 wins as a freshman and 16 last year.
