March 13, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina softball team returns to the field Wednesday when the Gamecocks welcome the Virginia Tech Hokies for a 4 p.m. doubleheader. The Gamecocks are 23-3 and the Hokies are 21-7. Head Coach Joyce Compton enters the contest with a career Division I record of 998-450-3, and is two wins away from No. 1,000. The twin bill can be followed live via Gametracker or audio Internet broadcast at www.uscsports.com.

Both teams are coming off of successful weekends. The Gamecocks swept a three-game series against SEC opponent Arkansas to extend its current win streak to six games. Virginia Tech has recorded victories in their last three games, defeating Villanova, Western Michigan and Ohio State.

The Gamecocks will face All-America Angela Tincher, who leads the Hokies with a 0.36 ERA and is 16-2 on the year. Tincher has 11 shutouts on the season and in 117.0 innings pitched, has recorded 253 strikeouts. Caroline Stolle and Callie Rhodes lead the Hokies at the plate. Stolle leads the team in hitting with a .346 average, six home runs and 23 RBI. Rhodes leads the team in hits with 29 and is hitting .305. As a team, Virginia Tech is hitting .266 while their opponents have been held to .158.

South Carolina is hitting .279 as a team and has held its opponents to a .160 average. The team’s ERA is 0.89 with Melissa Hendon and Kate Pouliot leading the way. Pouliot has a 0.39 ERA with a 12-1 record, while Hendon is 9-1 with 0.91 ERA and 123 strikeouts. Ashton Payne leads the Garnet and Black with a .368 batting average and 28 hits. Lindsay Walker, McKenna Hughes and Hendon also provide offense for the Gamecocks as all three are hitting over .300. Hughes leads the team with 19 RBI and seven home runs and Walker has 25 hits with 11 RBI.

This marks the tenth meeting between the two teams and Virgina Tech has a slight 5-4 lead. The Gamecocks are hoping to snap a four-game losing streak to the Hokies. South Carolina’s last win against Tech came in 2003.

Should the Gamecocks complete the doubleheader sweep, Coach Compton will pick up her 1,000th career D-I victory, becoming only the ninth coach in NCAA history, and the sixth coach in D-I history, to reach this milestone.