April 1, 2006
BATON ROUGE, La. – One run in the first inning was all it took for No. 11 LSU to defeat South Carolina 1-0 and record the doubleheader sweep Saturday afternoon at Tiger Park. A throwing error by USC allowed Camille Harris to score from first and hold on to the 1-0 lead for the win. The series will conclude Sunday at 2 p.m. (ET) and will air live on FOX SportsNet South.
The Gamecocks suffered their fourth straight loss and fall to 22-16, 2-9 in the SEC. LSU improved to 34-5, 9-2 and have won nine straight. Kate Pouliot gave up one unearned run on seven hits, one walk and four strikeouts in six innings. Dani Hofer struck out seven in seven innings and gave up one hit. Christie Hamilton recorded the lone hit for the Gamecocks. LSU’s Leslie Klein went 3-for-3 to lead the Tigers.
Harris hit a one out single to reach safely in the first inning and with two outs, Klein singled but a throwing error from the outfield allowed Harris to score from first and Klein to advance to second. Stephanie Hill flied out for the third out of the inning but the damage was already done.
The Gamecocks had three base runners in the game but could not bring home a run. Ashton Payne reached base safely in the fourth on an error and advanced to second on a sacrifice to provide the Gamecocks’ their first runner in scoring position for the game. USC’s run ended there as the Gamecocks struck out and flied out to end the inning.
South Carolina had another chance to score in the fifth when Hamilton hit a one-out double to left field, but Hofer caught the next two batters looking to strikeout the side and stranded USC’s runner.
USC is still looking for its first SEC series win of the season and will try to prevent the series sweep when the two teams meet for game three on Sunday.
