The No. 17 Auburn Tigers look to win their third straight conference series in Columbia, when they take on the unranked South Carolina Gamecocks.
The Tigers are coming off a huge rivalry series win against the No. 16 Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers dropped the first game 6-1, but then stunned the Tide winning the next two games 5-1 and 3-1.
The Gamecocks are coming off a tough series against the No. 12 Bulldogs where they were swept in Athens. The Gamecocks struggled at the plate the entire weekend, only scoring a total of two runs on the weekend.
The Gamecocks lineup is headlined by Brooke Blankenship. Blankenship is hitting for a team leading .324 average and has driven in the second most runs on the time with 26. Blankenship has been cold as of late, as she is hitless in her last four games. Blakenship looks to get back on track and produce for South Carolina.
The source of power for South Carolina comes from Riley Blampied. Blampied is tied for the team lead in home runs with six and has a leading 20 extra-base hits on the season. Blampied is a speed threat as well with 14 stolen bases on 16 attempts this season.
In the circle for the Gamecocks, Donnie Gobourne leads the team in ERA with 2.49 in 87 innings pitched. Opponents are batting a measly .184 against Gobourne, but she has struggled giving up the free pass with 50 walks on the season. The Tigers will look to take advantage of the free base to move runners around.
One Tiger that has been outstanding at drawing the walk is none other than Nelia Peralta. Peralta has drawn 36 walks and been hit by the pitch five times. Walking Peralta might be the better option than letting her swing, because Peralta is hitting .349 on the year with eight home runs.
Bri Ellis comes in leading the Tigers with 12 home runs and 38 RBI’s. Ellis has gotten hot as of late driving in nine runs in her last nine games. In those nine games, Ellis has gotten a hit in seven of them.
In line for the start in game one and three for the Tigers is Maddie Penta. Penta is coming off a great weekend against Alabama where she threw two complete games giving up just one run in each. Penta’s ERA sits at just 1.03 and she has struck out 242 opposing bats.
First pitch in Columbia is set for Friday at 5PM CST. Game two is set for Saturday at 1PM CST. The final matchup of the series is in line to begin at 12PM CST.
