The South Carolina softball team won its first five games of the season at home to start the 2025 season 5-0.
The Gamecocks won 7-6 and 5-4 after eight innings against Virginia to win its first series of the season. South Carolina softball also won 8-0 after five innings against Providence, 7-0 against Saint Francis and 1-0 against East Carolina to close out the weekend.
Here are recap's of the weekend's games.
Gamecocks open season with back-to-back walk-off wins
The South Carolina softball team won its first game of the 2025 season to the Virginia Cavaliers 7-6 in the first game of the Gamecock Invitational.
Head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said it was special to not only have a solid turnout on opening night, but to have lots of relatives and loved ones in the crowd to watch the new era of Gamecock softball begin.
“I’m really thankful for everyone to be here tonight, to take their time and be here and keep coming back because it’s going to keep getting exciting,” Chastain Woodard said.
The Cavaliers got off to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning and then added two more runs at the top of the fifth. Despite a leadoff double by junior infielder Arianna Rodi, the Gamecocks could only produce one run in the fifth inning, scored by Rodi, to trim the Cavaliers' lead to four.
The Gamecocks had its best opportunity of the night in the bottom of the seventh inning with senior utility player Emma Sellers at the plate with the bases loaded and one out.
Down 6-2, Sellers and freshman utility player Shea Anderson both earned bases loaded walks to cut the deficit to two. With one out, redshirt junior utility player Quincee Lilio singled, bringing in another two runs. Sophomore infielder Karley Shelton had the game-winning hit to give the Gamecocks the walk-off win in its first game of the season.
"I think we started off very, very strong, and that's just how the rest of the season's going to look," Lilio said.
On Friday afternoon, South Carolina added its second win of the season in another comeback against Virginia, this time a 5-4 victory in eight innings. The Gamecocks' offense overcame a slow start to finish with eight hits, while the Cavaliers were held scoreless in the final three innings.
"They have a ton of belief in themselves and each other," Chastain Woodard said. "Just the vibe in the dugout, they don't count themselves out at any point, and we really felt that both games against Virginia."
The Cavaliers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first after Virginia's sophomore infielder and utility player Macee Eaton hit a three-run home run. For the Gamecocks, senior infielder Brooke Blankenship scored a run in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly.
Virginia's offense found momentum in the fifth inning when senior outfielder Kailyn Jones hit a triple. Junior infielder Jade Hylton scored Jones on an RBI-groundout, giving the Cavaliers a 4-1 lead.
South Carolina tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when junior catcher Lexi Winters hit a three-run home run for her first hit as a Gamecock. Virginia threatened to take the lead in the eighth when it had a runner on second base with one out, but junior pitcher Jori Heard got two quick outs to get out of the jam. Blankenship's strong performance continued in the eighth inning when she hit a walk-off solo home run, clinching a 5-4 win for the Gamecocks. Blankenship finished the game with two hits and a pair of runs scored.
"I just told myself I had nothing to lose," Blankenship said. "There were no outs, we were in extra innings, so I was like, 'Early in the count, I'm gonna get a good swing off.'"
Gamecocks take victory against Providence through early runs
South Carolina then defeated Providence 8-0 in its third game of the Gamecock Invitational, remaining undefeated to start the tournament.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Gamecocks jumped out to a five-run lead after loading the bases several times. Senior outfielder Emily Vinson and Lilio each drew walks, while senior infielder Ella Chancey contributed an RBI. Chancey and redshirt junior infielder Natalie Heath also reached base after being hit by pitches, adding to an early offense.
A sacrifice fly to center field by sixth-year outfielder Abigail Knight brought home Chancey for her second run of the day. Blankenship then capitalized on a wild pitch to find another run, while a second RBI from Vinson extended the Gamecocks’ lead to eight in the second inning.
The Gamecocks held Providence scoreless through five innings, holding a strike percentage of 57.6% and only allowing five hits by the visitor. The top of the fourth concluded following a double play by sophomore pitcher Kadie Becker, with throws to home plate and first base.
The run-rule was applied after the fifth inning, with a grounded ball resulting in a double play, with Blankenship finding Shelton at second base for the first out and Rodi completing the sequence.
Becker finished with a 0.00 ERA, pitching all four innings and claiming her first win of the season on the mound.
Offensive explosion powers Gamecocks to victory against St. Francis
The Gamecocks claimed its fourth straight victory against St. Francis in the Gamecock Invitational, 7-0, to remain undefeated in the 2025 season. South Carolina ended the game with seven hits and struck out nine batters.
After both teams failed to score a run in the first two innings, Shelton started the scoring with a home run to center field to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead in the third inning.
“We kind of got off to a slow start,” Chastain Woodard said. “Karley Shelton had a big hit for us in the bottom of the third that kind of broke it open.”
Knight hit a double in the bottom of the fifth inning that helped the Gamecocks gain momentum. The team capitalized on two defensive errors leading to a 3-0 score and left runners at second and third base with one out.
Rodi then hit a sacrifice fly to advance the runners and score one run to make it 4-0, before hits from Chancey and Winters made the score 7-0.
“I felt like every facet of the game we performed at a really high level,” Chastain Woodard said. “It’s tough to lose when you are performing like that in every area.”
South Carolina takes the final game of the Gamecock invitational against East Carolina
On Sunday afternoon, South Carolina improved to 5-0, going undefeated in the Gamecock invitational with a narrow 1-0 victory against the East Carolina Pirates.
Both South Carolina and East Carolina went scoreless in the first five innings, with Pirates pitcher Kendall Frost and Heard only allowing a combined five hits. The score remained at zero heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, when Winters hit the go ahead RBI single up the middle to score Chancey from second base.
In the top of the seventh inning with South Carolina leading 1-0, East Carolina hit for a leadoff double, but a pair of flyouts and a strikeout left the runner stranded, ending the game.
“Sometimes it just goes like that,” said Chastain Woodard, “Today was just about us scraping one run across.”
Heard pitched well against the Pirates, striking out a career high 10 batters, in a complete game shutout, where she only gave up four hits.
“Just knowing my teammates had my back,” Heard said. "Whatever I was gonna throw, I knew they were behind me ... and that they were there for me no matter what.”
What's next?
The Gamecocks will be back in action next weekend for the Carolina Classic at Beckham Field. The first game will start at 6 p.m. against Georgia St. and will stream live on SEC Network+.