Woodard Belts First Career Homer in Loss to South Carolina

Cynthia Woodard

Posted: Feb 12, 2012

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COLUMBIA, S.C. - In a game that was pushed back one hour because of the freeze, it took the Cleveland State bats a while to warm up in Sunday's (Feb. 12) 7-4 loss to host South Carolina in CSU's final game of the 2012 Palmetto Classic.

The Vikings finish the first weekend of the season 0-4 while the Gamecocks improved to 3-1.

CSU took the lead with a run in the top of the first. Nena Doran laced a one-out single to center field. She moved to second on a fielding error by USC pitcher Kierstyn White and came around to score when Dara Toman doubled down the left field line.

The Gamecocks matched the run off CSU starter Alex Radjen in the home half of the inning when leadoff hitter Samie Garcia got on, got over and came home on an Evan Childs base hit.

The duo of Garcia and Childs sparked the Gamecock offense again in the third. Garcia started the inning with a leadoff double and scored the go-ahead run. Childs soon followed with a two-run homer and after two more Gamecocks reached, Sara Shields made her Viking debut in relief of Radjen.

USC pushed one more run across in the third - one that was charged to Radjen - to cap a four-run third inning. The Gamecocks got to Shields for two runs in the fourth to widen the lead to 7-1.

CSU's offense came to life in the sixth when Cynthia Woodard stroked her first career home run - a three-run shot - which made the score 7-4.

Toman singled to start the sixth and Caila Ferro followed with a single to bring Woodard to the dish. She belted a homer to left which made her the third Viking to hit her first collegiate home run this weekend.

Andrea Nagy singled after the Woodard homer and that signaled the end of the day for White in the circle as Katelynn Howser came in to replace her after five innings pitched.

Megan Bashak and Doran - the tying run - reached base with two outs in the sixth.

Erica McNew worked the count full but flied to center to end the threat.

The Vikings went in order in the top of the seventh to end the game.

Radjen, who worked 2.2 innings, was charged with the loss to slide to 0-2. She allowed five runs - all of them earned - on five hits and two walks while striking out one.

White was the winner for USC and evened her record at 1-1 while Howser worked two innings to earn her first save of the season.

At the conclusion of the tournament, Ferro was named to the all-tournament team. She finished the weekend with a .462 (6-13) average, including three doubles and a home run. She drove in a pair while scoring four runs.

Cleveland State is idle from competition until the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Vikings will play the first of five games in a three-day span against Dayton at 11:00 a.m. on Feb. 24.