Since the South Carolina softball team started in 1974, the program has seen notable hitters come through its doors and wear the Garnet and Black, such as Jana Jones and Alaynie Page, who share the record most home runs in a season with 15 apiece. But the two may have some more company by the time the season ends.
Junior infielder Arianna Rodi has shined in her first season after transferring from Charlotte. So far this season Rodi has hit 11 home runs, just four shy of the program record for most home runs in a single season. She also has 35 runs batted in and a slugging average of .930.
The Gamecocks are off to a historic start this season as it started the season 20-0, has scored 220 runs so far and claimed three series wins over ranked opponents.
The Gamecocks has 10 batters hitting over .300 this season, with Rodi leading the team in both home runs and RBIs.
Growing up in Cranston, Rhode Island, Rodi played softball and hockey, but elected to stop playing hockey and focus on softball.
After a great high school career at La Salle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island, where Rodi would win State Championship MVP as a freshman and first team All-State in 2021 and 2022.
Rodi then committed to UNC-Charlotte to play for coach Ashley Chastain Woodard, who now coaches South Carolina softball.
Rodi showed flashes of the player she would become today in her first year at Charlotte, finishing her freshman season with 5 home runs and 13 RBIs while batting .250 in 64 at bats.
Rodi had a breakout sophomore campaign as she hit 22 home runs, 55 RBIs, increased her batting average to .353 while starting all 57 of Charlotte's games, as it would go on to win the American Athletic Conference tournament for the second straight year.
To go along with the tremendous success of the team, Rodi earned several individual honors that included being named as a Softball America First Team All-American and First Team All-American Athletic Conference as a first basemen.
Following the 2024 season, Chastain Woodard was hired as the next softball coach at South Carolina on June, 11. Just nine days after the announcement on June 20, Rodi would follow her coach and transfer to the school as well.
Rodi was not the only 49er to follow Chastain Woodard as five other players transferred this past offseason to South Carolina, something that Rodi believes has made the transition easier.
“They're my best friends,” she said. “I couldn't imagine doing this without them coming here. My relationship grows with them on a daily basis, and I've always had them.”
Rodi also said that the new teammates that she has met this year have had a great impact on her as well, and how the team has come together.
“The people that I've met this year that have had just as much of an impact on me,” she said. “The freshmen, the returners, the girls who have transferred from other schools, we've all really just come together as one.”
The Gamecocks certainly took the advice of Chastain Woodard and have focused on building its culture and team team chemistry, Rodi said.
“For us as a team, we need to focus on being together as one unit, us coming from all over, it was a really big focus for us,” Rodi said. “So more of the off-field stuff was a priority to us than on-field.”
Rodi began this season by getting just two hits in the first six games, but was still able to get on base in every game during that time frame except in the 1-0 win over East Carolina.
It was not until the second game against Georgia State on Feb. 14, that Rodi saw a ball leave the ballpark, the first home run in her career as a Gamecock.
Just a few weeks later, Rodi made history as she hit a home run in five straight games, that included the team’s first ranked series win this season against then No. 8 Duke, the 14th longest streak in NCAA history.
Despite this being Rodi’s first season at the Power Four level, she said she believes that she got great experience playing tougher opponents at Charlotte and the challenges of the SEC is nothing new.
“At Charlotte, our schedule is really hard when we weren't playing in conference,” Rodi said. “So it's nothing new. It's just gonna be on a more consistent basis. So I'm really excited to prove ourselves as a team within that strong schedule.”
The Gamecock offense remains one of the nation's best, with Rodi being one of the major reasons for this, however it isn’t just her. This season, South Carolina has outscored its opponents 220-89 and ranks No. 2 in the nation in doubles and sacrifice flys per game.
“I think being in this lineup, it's really easy just to be really free in the box and just allow yourself to see a ball over the plate and just swing really hard at it,” senior infielder Ella Chancey said, who also transferred from Charlotte.
This successful season isn't just a result of a talented group of players, as Chastain Woodard mentioned in the preseason how strong relationships between players are beneficial to a team and how she has seen firsthand the effects of closer groups that can authentically connect with one another.
“It's absolutely necessary to have a successful team, we have to create trust and love and vulnerability and accountability,” Chastain Woodard said. “If you don't have relationships and connections, those things don't truly authentically exist. The best teams I've ever been a part of or coached they had those things.”
What's next?
The No. 11 Gamecocks will take on No. 3 LSU in Baton Rouge for a this upcoming weekend, March 28-30. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on SECN.