The South Carolina softball team gets the sweep in the Garnet and Black Invitational to start the season 15-0, its best start in Gamecock softball history.
The Gamecocks opened the tournament with two wins of 9-1 and 8-0 over the Boston University Terriers on Friday and Saturday. South Carolina defeated the Fordham Rams 9-1 for its ninth run rule victory in a row for the Gamecocks. On Sunday, the Gamecocks closed the weekend with a late comeback win of 9-4 win over the UNLV Rebels.
Here's the recap of this weekend's games:
Gamecocks dominate in late inning surge
South Carolina kicked off the tournament on Friday night with a win against the Boston University Terriers 9-1 in its eighth run rule victory of the season.
The first two innings featured zero runs from both teams, until the Terriers found themselves taking the lead in the top of the third with a home run by junior infielder Brooke Deppiesse.
The Gamecocks would get on the score board in the bottom of the fourth inning after senior outfielder Abigail Knight hit an RBI double to left center field and sent freshman outfielder Chloe Lackey to home plate.
"I think it was the difference in the game," head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said. "It was the boost of energy and just confidence and everything that we needed"
South Carolina would go on to score four more runs in the fourth inning to take a 5-1 lead following redshirt junior infielder Natalie Heath sacrifice RBI and senior infielder Ella Chancey's three RBI double to close out the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Knight hit another RBI double allowing junior outfielder Lexi Winters to score. After that, with bases loaded, junior outfielder Quincee Lilio hit a three RBI double to clear the bases, and ended the game in the process due to a run rule.
Sophomore infielder Karley Shelton performed well in her two plate appearances, as she was able to get two hits that eventually allowed her to score. Following the game, Shelton said that hitting displayed her team's strong preparation for the game.
"At bats at the start of the game were all ground balls," Shelton said. "With Q's ground ball, and then mine, and then obviously Ari's, having three ground balls back-to back that are also really hard to hit showed our preparation."
Heard dominates, bats heat up late for South Carolina in run rule win
The Gamecocks picked up where they left off on Saturday afternoon, besting the Terriers again 8-0 in run-rule fashion in the first game of its doubleheader.
South Carolina got out in front in the first inning from a RBI double from Shelton. Shelton stole home on a double-steal with senior infielder Brooke Blankenship, giving the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead.
Junior pitcher Jori Heard was dominant in her third start of the season, pitching six shutout innings, striking out five while only allowing two hits. Heard picked up her sixth win of the season to move her to a perfect 6-0.
The win brings Heard’s ERA down to 0.19 on the season, allowing just one earned run in 34 innings pitched. A season ago, Heard finished with a 7-2 record with a 1.88 ERA.
"Jori's kind of been in the shadow of a lot of really good arms here the past couple of years," Chastain Woodard said. "She's kind of in the spot light now, has kind of arrived at that in her junior campaign."
Meanwhile, offensively, the Gamecocks remained stagnant through five innings. The score remained 2-0, but South Carolina was held to just four hits by Boston freshman pitcher Danika Nell and had left seven runners on base.
The Gamecocks struck fire in the bottom of the sixth, scoring six runs on six hits in the final frame. An RBI double by redshirt junior infielder Natalie Heath got the scoring going, while Lilio, Chancey and Blankenship all picked up RBI base hits.
With the bases loaded with two outs, Knight put the game away, hitting a double into left-center field to bring the winning runners home for the run rule.
"I do think it's a really great character trait for us to get better offensively as the game goes," Chastain Woodard said. "They're really good at learning from their previous at bats, communicating that with each other, learning as the game goes."
Gamecocks score 8 in final two frames to secure 11th run rule victory
South Carolina secured the second leg of the doubleheader, defeating the Fordham Rams 9-1 on Saturday night. It was the ninth run rule victory in a row for the Gamecocks and 10 total for the season.
"I feel something very contagious from them in a really positive way," Chastain Woodard said. "Especially offensively, it's just we get that one little spark from whoever in the lineup, it's been multiple people."
Junior infielder Arianna Rodi opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run, her fourth of the season, to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead. South Carolina's bats went stagnant for several innings following the first run, with only two hits as a team after four innings.
Sophomore pitcher Nealy Lamb got the start for South Carolina, striking out six Rams in four innings, while allowing two hits and two walks.
The Rams broke the score in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 1-1 after an RBI double from senior catcher Sydney Wells. The Gamecocks would take the lead back in the bottom half of the fifth off a two-run single from Lilio.
The Gamecocks broke away in the sixth inning, scoring six runs on five hits all with two outs in the inning. Senior infielder Emma Sellers, Lilio, and Shelton all had RBI base hits in the sixth to make the score 7-1. Blankenship was the walk-off hero for the Gamecocks, hitting a single up the middle with the bases loaded to bring home Shelton and Rodi for the run rule.
Lilio was the star offensively for the Gamecocks during the doubleheader, going 5-7 at the plate with four RBIs and two runs scored.
"She just kind of has some sort of force field when it comes to the zone," said Chastain Woodard. "She just kind of has this energy in the box that I think really affects the opposing pitcher."
Gamecocks score 5 in the sixth inning to get the win over the Rebels
South Carolina closed the weekend with a 9-4 win over the UNLV Rebels on Sunday afternoon extending it's winning streak to 15 wins for the best record in Gamecock softball history.
The Rebels got onto the score board early after senior infielder Karmya Becerra hit a single followed by a double from sophomore catcher Jesse Farfell to put up the Rebels 1-0.
UNLV continued to score as sophomore infielder Charelle Aki had a two RBI single to widen the lead to 3-0 early in the first inning. Sixth-year pitcher Sam Gress was substituted in after the RBI from Aki. After a double from senior outfielder Sofia Morales, the Gamecocks allowed another run from freshman outfielder Mantha Hatzenbeller scored on a muffed throw to finish the inning with a 4-0 lead.
South Carolina responded with two hits and a sacrifice flyout RBI from senior infielder Ella Chancey to give the Gamecocks their first score of the night.
"We've run ruled a lot, but it's not guaranteed," Chastain Woodard said. "So it was good to see them come back from a bad top of the first."
Despite a high scoring first inning from the Rebels, Gress held the Rebels scoreless for the remained of her time on the mound. The Gamecocks would add another run after a walk from Blankenship and a Lexi Winter RBI to make the score 4-3 after three innings.
Heard replaced Gress after 4 innings to close the game for the Gamecocks. In the three innings she pitched she only allowed one hit and had three strikeouts.
Chancey continued her impressive performance at the plate with a RBI single to tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth inning. Lilio had a RBI double along with a RBI single from Sellers to put the Gamecocks up 9-4 at the end of the sixth inning.
Chancey was given the dugout card after the game today and Chastain Woodard praised her following the game. The dugout card is a lineup sheet that coach hands out to a player that she thinks had the best performance following the game.
"Ella Chancey had a day at the plate," Chastian Woodard said. "She looks great and really looked great for us all season."
What's next?
South Carolina will be back in action on Tuesday as they will take on the Charlotte 49ers in Charlotte, NC. The first pitch is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN+.