The No. 11 South Carolina softball team won its 20th straight game of the season with a 10-2 victory over the Youngstown State Penguins (2-16) at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field on Wednesday night.
The 20-0 start for the Gamecocks is tied for the best start in program history with the 1976 team. The 1976 Gamecocks went on to the Women's College World Series.
"Going 20-0 to start conference play is special, I really feel like it's for everyone that has worn the jersey, all the alums, all the work that's gone into the program, everybody that works for the program day-to-day and then obviously this team, so just really proud of them," head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said.
In the top of the first inning, Youngstown State loaded the bases and scored two quick runs, with freshman pitcher Olivia Kotowski giving up five singles despite 28 strikes.
The Gamecocks responded in the bottom of the first with a three-run home run from junior infielder Arianna Rodi, hitting the ball towards left center and sending home redshirt junior utility Quincee Lilio and sophomore infielder Karley Shelton.
"I think she's just really hunting for something specific and then when she gets it, you know she's able to put a good swing on it," Chastain Woodard said. "She looks really confident, and I really like where she's at. I think she's the best that she's ever been right now."
Kotowski got back on track with a pair of strikeouts to begin the second inning. In the bottom half, redshirt junior infielder Natalie Heath launched her second home run of the season to left field. Senior infielder Brooke Blankenship added an RBI single later in the inning to give the Gamecocks a 5-2 lead.
Sophomore pitcher Nealy Lamb got the ball in the third inning, striking out the first three batters she faced. The Gamecocks added a pair of runs off the bat of Shelton, scoring sixth-year outfielder Abigail Knight and Lilio with an RBI single to make it a 7-2 game.
Junior catcher Lexi Winters doubled down the left field line in the fourth inning, scoring Blankenship. Knight plated her second run of the night after an RBI single from Lilio later in the fourth to extend the lead to 9-2.
A fly out by Shelton saw freshman utility Shae Anderson score with the score at 10-2 entering the fifth inning. Sophomore pitcher Kadie Becker closed out the game which ended after five innings, with six strikes from nine total pitches.
Pitching efficiency critical
Through five innings, Youngstown State threw 109 pitches with 52 strikes and 57 balls (47.7%). Meanwhile, the Gamecocks threw 79 pitches with 55 strikes and 24 balls (69.6%), finding the strike zone much more often.
Lamb relieved Kotowski after two innings, who had given up two runs. Lamb allowed zero hits in the third and fourth innings, throwing a total of 21 strikes and improving to 5-0 on the season. Becker also kept her opponents hitless.
Hitting changes hands after early innings
South Carolina capitalized with nine RBI's and 11 total hits, compared to Youngstown State’s two RBI's and five hits, all of which came in the early innings. Following Youngstown State’s five hits in the first two innings, the visitors did not make contact for the rest of the game.
The Gamecocks boasted a hitting average of .478 (11-23), in contrast to Youngstown State’s .212 (5-19). Rodi’s three-run home run was the only lead change of the game, turning the balance of the matchup.
"I was just looking for a pitch over the plate, she was working outside to me, so she came a little bit more in her half of the plate and missed down the middle, so I capitalized on a mis-pitch on the pitcher," Rodi said.
Final tune-ups before conference play
Wednesday night’s mid-week victory against Youngstown State was the Gamecocks’ last matchup in non-conference play before a three-game series and road test against No. 2 Oklahoma, the defending national champions.
"We don't have to prove to anyone who we are," Rodi said. "The only thing that matters is all 21 of us knowing what we do day in and day out and what kind of team we are, so we're not really focused on other people's narratives about us or the expectations of going into SEC play."
As the Gamecocks prepare to play in Norman, Lilio will return to the team she transferred from, having the third-highest batting average in the country.
"I think it's a really great start for us, just coming out the gate hot and not waiting until later in the season, so I think it'll be really good competition," Lilio said of the Oklahoma matchup.
Lilio said at the end of the day the team is just there to play softball.
"We're just there to do the game we know how to play and not make the stage bigger than it already is cause Love's Field, it is a different environment," Lilio said.
What’s next?
The No. 11 South Carolina softball team (20-0) travels to Norman, Oklahoma to face the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners (19-0) to begin conference play with a three-game set beginning on March 7. Game one begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.