The South Carolina softball team went undefeated in the Carolina Classic Tournament to start the season a perfect 10-0.
The Gamecocks started with a dominant 13-0 over Georgia State on Thursday night. In a Friday doubleheader, South Carolina bested Georgia State again 9-1, followed up by a 8-0 rout of Miami (Ohio). After beating Miami (Ohio) again on 12-2 on Saturday afternoon, the Gamecocks closed the weekend with a 11-0 win against Appalachian State on Sunday night.
Here's a recap of all the weekend games.
Gamecocks run-rule Georgia State twice
South Carolina began the tournament with a 13-0 win over Georgia State in five innings on Thursday. The Gamecocks got a strong performance from redshirt junior utility player Quincee Lilio, who went 3-3 with a walk and four RBIs.
Lilio got the Gamecocks on the board in the second inning with an RBI-single. In the fourth inning, the Gamecocks' offense went for 10 runs, three of which came after errors by the Panthers. South Carolina took a 7-0 lead when junior catcher Lexi Winters singled and later advanced to second, scoring a run.
"We got some momentum and just kind of rolled with it," head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said. "We had a plan for every person on their staff, and kudos to our offense. They kind of made it look easy. They swung at strikes, they took balls, we took some extra bases."
Lilio hit a triple in the fourth that scored three runs and extended South Carolina's lead to 12. Sixth-year pitcher Sam Gress posted three quick outs in the fifth, sealing the win for the Gamecocks.
"A lot of offensive production, really from the whole lineup," Chastian Woodard said. "Our nine-hole hitter, (senior outfielder) Emily Vinson, walked three times, and the top of our order had multi-RBI games."
In the second game against Georgia State on Friday, South Carolina cruised to a 9-1 victory over the Panthers in six innings. The Gamecocks totaled 12 hits in the contest and scored five runs in the fifth inning secure another run-rule victory.
Junior infielder Arianna Rodi gave the Gamecocks the lead in the first inning with a two-run home run. But the Panthers responded in the second inning when sophomore infielder Bella Morton hit an RBI-single, making it a 2-1 game. Senior infielder Ella Chancey hit a double in the fifth that added a run for the Gamecocks.
In the sixth, sophomore infielder Karley Shelton hit double to right field, which scored two runs and extended South Carolina's lead to five. Chancey's night continued later in the inning when she hit another RBI-double, scoring Rodi and clinching another run-rule win over the Panthers.
Junior pitcher Nealy Lamb pitched 4.1 innings in relief, giving up no hits and recording seven strikeouts. The performance earned Lamb her second win of the season.
Heard Continues Her Strong Season
To close out the day on Friday, the Gamecocks defeated the University of Miami (Ohio) 8-0 in just six innings to get its third run-rule of the tournament, with junior pitcher Jori Heard earning her fourth win of the season to continue her perfect record.
"Just being able to go out there confident, trusting my stuff, trusting my defense, each and every time," Heard said.
While Heard remained hot, the scoring for South Carolina wouldn't begin until the third inning, when Rodi hit her second home run of the tournament. The home run came after Lilio hit a double and Shelton drew a walk to bring in three runs for the Gamecocks.
South Carolina added to its lead in the fifth inning. After Rodi was walked, freshman outfielder Nia McKnight was subbed in as a pinch runner.
She proceeded to steal second base and advanced to third off a wild pitch and scored after Winters then hit an RBI single. Senior utility Emma Sellers then hit a single to drive home two more runners, Winters and Chancey, to cap off the scoring.
The game ended in the 6th inning when Shelton hit a two-run home run to drive her and Lilio home and end the game.
Heard has now held the last two teams she has faced to shutouts and in the process has struck out 19 batters in the game against East Carolina and Miami (Ohio). Chastian Woodard talked about Heards' performance over the first two weeks of the season following the win.
"She's gotten progressively better every year, and I think she's the best she's ever been," Chastain Woodard said. "She's getting really great results on the field the first two weeks of season. She's learned what makes her really good over the past offseason."
Gamecocks run all over Miami (OH) in 4th inning
South Carolina defeated Miami (OH) for the second time this tournament by a score of 12-2, with 11 of the Gamecocks runs coming in the fourth inning.
Things started off well for the Gamecocks in the first inning when infielder senior Brooke Blankenship hit the ball with the bases loaded, advancing everyone one base further, which made Rodi score. However, the Red Hawks responded in the second inning to tie the game.
The Gamecocks were able to get a double play by Shelton and Blankenship in the top of the fourth inning, which Chastain Woodard said gave the team a lot of momentum heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
“I think the double play on defense coming into offense gave us a lot of momentum, and we needed that, because we had struggled with how much slow off speed that they were throwing at us,” Chastain Woodard said. “It was a little bit contagious at that point, we just had a lot of things string together.”
In that fourth inning, South Carolina was able to score 11 runs, as redshirt junior infielder Natalie Heath was able to kick things off with an RBI single. Several other Gamecocks were able to draw walks with bases loaded before a rain delay. Before the rain delay, Chancey was able to hit a RBI single to build on the 5-1 lead.
After the break, the Gamecocks picked up right were it left off, with Blankenship and Winters driving in runs. Heath was able to hit another RBI to give her two on the day. This was shortly followed by Vinson, which brought in freshman utility player Shae Anderson. Shelton would hit one more double to close out the night and the game 12-2.
For pitching, Gress ended the game with three strikes and only two earned runs. Overall, she had a total ERA of 2.57 and had five hits given up through the whole game.
"It's a tough environment to pitch in with the elements of the weather, and she's a true pro at her craft in what she does," Chastain Woodard said. "She's gonna keep getting the ball for us, so I think overall she looks good."
Gamecocks cap Carolina Classic with run rule victory against Appalachian State
The South Carolina softball team claimed an 11-0 victory in mercy-rule fashion against Appalachian State to extend its win streak to 10 games.
Blankenship started the scoring with a bases loaded, two-run double in the third inning. Winters then hit another double, extending the Gamecocks lead to 4-0 in the process.
“I think for me going into this season was just them learning how to win together,” Chastain Woodard said, “Now that we're 10 into that, I think they’re feeling it, and the confidence and belief, you can’t buy.”
South Carolina continued to score in the next inning, adding seven runs to make the score 11-0. Big hits from Heath and freshman catcher Mya Flindt cemented the Gamecocks’ control in the contest.
The Gamecocks dominant pitching and clean defense closed out the day with a run rule victory. The pitching staff allowed no runs and struck out seven batters in five innings.
“It’s going to keep getting tougher, but as their belief and confidence in their systems ... are really working, those things collide (when) you start facing really good competition, and they feel really, really great,” Chastain Woodard said.
What's Next?
Catch the Gamecocks (10-0) in action on Wednesday night when the team takes on the North Carolina Tarheels (9-2) at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. The game will be at 6 p.m. and broadcast on the SEC Network+.