BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Campbell's softball team (1-6-1) looks to get
back to the winning ways and travels to the Palmetto State for
three games this week. The Camels start the action and travel to
Columbia to take on University of South Carolina on Feb. 24 at 4
p.m. CU will then travel head back to Charleston to take on College
of Charleston for a doubleheader on Feb. 27 starting at 2 p.m.
Campbell went 0-5-1 last week. The Camels started the week and fell
to Charleston Southern 10-6 in the first game and then saw the
second game end in a 2-2 tie because of darkness and the fact that
the Lady Bucs do not have lights at their field. The tie was the
first for the team since tying 3-3 against Furman in the second
game of the 2007 season. The tie was the third in the history of
Campbell softball with the previous one occurring in 1998 to Elon.
Campbell then headed off to Gainesville, Florida to participate in
the Lipton Invitational against a very competitive field. The
Camels played better each game throughout the tournament but were
unable to come away with a victory with losses to East Carolina,
#5/9 Florida, Marshall and Kansas. Junior Lauren Stephan
continued to impress and hit .400 on the week with eight hits, two
doubles, two home runs, five RBIs and 16 total bases.
South Carolina are off to a 6-3 start to the season after going 2-3
in a tournament hosted by Central Florida over the weekend. The
Gamecocks are 4-0 this season at home with victories over Coastal
Carolina, Winthrop and two wins over Longwood. Sophomore Evan
Childs leads the offensive attack with a .423 batting average, 11
hits and five doubles. Junior Laura Mendes has also been impressive
with a .414 batting average, 12 hits, and 10 RBIs. The South
Carolina pitching staff as a whole has stood out with a team ERA of
2.12. Sophomore Audrey Broyles is 2-0 with 0.82 ERA and 22
strikeouts in 17 innings thrown. Junior Ashley Chastain has already
picked up a pair of saves on the year. South Carolina will take on
Charlotte in a single game on Feb. 23 before welcoming in Campbell.
The Camels have never defeated South Carolina in 10 previous tries.
The last time these teams faced each other was a 3-0 South Carolina
win in 2007.
The College of Charleston has started the season with a 3-4 record.
The Cougars were scheduled to start the season on the road at the
Palmetto State Showdown, but weather forced the team to move the
makeup games at home with Charleston Southern instead. Last
weekend, College of Charleston hosted the C of C Cougar Classic.
The Cougars went 3-2 in the tournament with the final loss coming
to No. 15 Louisville on Sunday. College of Charleston is scheduled
to take on Charleston Southern for a pair of games on Tuesday this
week before welcoming in Campbell over the weekend. Senior Kristie
Shiflett leads the team with a .368 batting average and five RBIs.
She is tied for the team lead with seven hits and a home run. Her
sister, Amber, is hitting .304 with seven hits and six runs scored.
Freshman Stephanie Saylors is 1-1 on the year with a 2.71 ERA.
Junior Alexa Datko has a 2.90 ERA and is limiting opponents to a
.138 batting average. The Camels lead the all-time series between
the two schools 21-6, although the Cougars came away with a 2-0
victory the last time these schools met in 2008.
After this weekend the Camels return home briefly for two games
against St. Bonaventure on March 2 starting at 4 p.m. The Camels
will then hit the road for the Purple & Gold Challenge from
March 5-7 in Baton Rogue, Louisiana. The other teams in the field
are Syracuse, South Alabama and No. 17/19 Louisiana.
