Each year, USC Aiken Athletics highlights the top moment of each program. Instead of the traditional countdown to No. 1, this season PacerSports.com will feature the top moment in each program in random order.
On a rainy Thursday, USC Aiken was slated to host Shaw in a doubleheader. With the field under water and the Bears already on site, the doubleheader was pushed back several hours. The start of the doubleheader was 5:45 p.m. In the midst of an overcast and dreary evening,
Caroline Cockrell shined like never before.
Cockrell hurled a seven-inning perfect game, helping the Pacers to a 5-0 victory. It marked just the second known perfect game in USC Aiken softball history. Cockrell struck out 17 batters in the contest.
Box Score
Story
AIKEN, S.C. –
Caroline Cockrell threw a perfect game in the opener against Shaw as the University of South Carolina Aiken softball team picked up a sweep by scores of 5-0 and 14-1.
The Pacers are now 8-0 on the season.
In the opener, Cockrell was outstanding. She struck out 17 of the 21 batters she faced and registered the perfect game in 98 pitches.
Courtney Strauss took the first pitch and ripped a single before swiping second. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, she raced home on a sacrifice fly by
Katelyn Powell for a 1-0 edge. Powell singled home
Sarah Sams in the second frame for a 2-0 advantage. Sams had singled through the left side of the field before swiping second and moving to third on
Hanna Hyder's base knock.
The score remained the same until the sixth inning thanks to some tremendous defensive plays by the Bears. However, head coach
Jerry Snyder's team broke through in the sixth with three runs.
Katie Painter singled home
Deja Robinson before a groundout from Sams plated
Shircoria Bosket for a 4-0 advantage. Hyder's bunt single scored Painter for the 5-0 tally.
In the seventh, Cockrell faced three batters and went to a 3-2 count on the last two Bears before getting the last two outs via swinging strikeouts. It was the only times in the game when she went to a full count on a batter. The perfect game was the first for USC Aiken since Feb. 22, 2014.
For the game,
Emily Ayers, Hyder and Powell had two hits apiece. Powell drove in two runs in the contest.
Top Moments: Golf Wins Firestone Invitational
Top Moments: Women's Basketball Knocks Off No. 22 Limestone
Top Moments: Men's Cross Country Finishes 10th At PBC Championship; Every Student-Athlete Establishes Personal-Best Mark
Top Moments: Women's Cross Country Captures Meet Title; King Posts Meet Victory
Top Moments: Softball's Caroline Cockrell Throws Perfect Game
