The Gamecock softball team was looking to snap a seven-game losing streak on Wednesday, as they hosted Charleston Southern in a doubleheader at Beckham Field. South Carolina won both, extending a separate winning streak against the Buccaneers to 10, dominating them on the mound.
South Carolina outscored the Buccaneers with a total of 18-2 on Wednesday, allowing only four hits in 12 innings of action. Here’s how that happened.
Game one
Stellar pitching throughout the game and a big fifth inning made the difference for the Gamecocks.
Charleston Southern opened the first inning with shortstop Ashley Meckley's two-run home run to left field. The Gamecocks cut their point deficit in half during the bottom half with graduate infielder Mackenzie Boesel's solo shot just under the scoreboard.
Sophomore Karsen Ochs pitched a strong second inning, leading into five one-hit, scoreless innings of relief by freshman pitcher Leah Powell and sophomore pitcher Bailey Betenbaugh.
In the third, South Carolina took the lead for good with a single by freshman right fielder Maddie Gallagher and a sac fly from junior infielder Kassidy Krupit. Later in the fifth inning, the Gamecocks put up a five-spot, led by three straight RBI singles.
The 9-2 victory over Charleston Southern in game one snapped the seven-game losing streak for the Gamecocks.
Game two
South Carolina continued its great performance from game one into game two, only allowing one hit and winning by mercy rule in the fifth inning, 9-0.
Senior Kelsey Oh pitched her best game of the season Wednesday evening, giving up only one hit in five innings of action. She did this while striking out three and retiring the final 10 Buccaneer batters.
To add to all of this, the offense started early for the Gamecocks, as Boesel and junior catcher Jordan Fabian each had RBI hits in the first inning. In the fourth, graduate shortstop Kenzi Maguire would hit an RBI double, followed by a Boesel fielder’s choice.
Later in the inning, freshman Chooch Carroll hit the first home run of her Gamecock career with a deep shot to left field.
The Gamecocks finished the game out with a Fabian RBI single up the middle in the fifth inning, giving the Gamecocks the mercy-rule win and a two-game winning streak.
Up next
South Carolina will take the trip down to Oxford, Mississippi for a weekend series at Ole Miss starting April 9. The first pitches are 7 p.m. on Friday, noon on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday, with the Saturday game being on SEC Network and others on SEC Network+.