Knowing what's at stake, South Carolina playing with purpose in Super Regional

It’s hard for them not to think about it. It’s been their goal all season long, and now, they’re within reach of getting to where they’ve always dreamed of being.

South Carolina softball is two wins away from advancing to the Women’s College World Series for the first time in nearly 30 years. The Gamecocks, who swept through regional play, will host a Super Regional for the first time in program history.

There’s one team standing in their way, though. UCLA, which took the cross-country flight to Columbia, is vying for its 13th national championship and first since 2019. The best-of-three series gets going Friday afternoon with first pitch at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.

“The staff and I have been digging into them since early in the week, and we have made comparisons,” head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said. “… I think they’re comparable to an LSU or an (Texas) A&M. That’s kind of the two teams that we felt like they had some similarities to, at least that we played this year, because there were elite teams in the league we didn’t get an opportunity to play.”

While these two teams have rarely ever faced off, they do have some history, albeit from 42 years ago. They met in the 1983 Women’s College World Series and played a 17-inning marathon, with the Bruins winning 2-1 in what is now tied for the second-longest game in WCWS history.

“I got a text message last night from Shirley Burton, who played on the ’83 team. She was going through telling me all the moments that happened in that 17-inning game versus UCLA,” Arianna Rodi said. “Just at the end of the message, she was just thanking us for bringing softball back to South Carolina at a high standard.”

That’s part of what South Carolina is playing for in this series. Of course, its main goal is to make plans for a trip to Oklahoma City next week. But it’s also kept its history in mind and will look to “avenge” the 1983 team that lost to UCLA.

“All the alumni are proud of us, no matter what the outcome is. So I think that was really freeing of a message to hear from (Burton) and from all the alumni,” Rodi said. “So kind of playing for ourselves, but also we have a crew behind us that is rallying for us and something bigger.”

The Bruins, who have won 50 or more games in three of the last four seasons, dominated their regional and outscored opponents 31-2 last weekend. Since they were the first team outside of being a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament, they’ll have to play on the road for a chance to make it back to the WCWS.

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In its first year as a member of the Big Ten, UCLA has already made multiple trips to the East Coast this season. But Chastain Woodard feels coming into an atmosphere like Beckham Field, with Super Regional tickets having sold out in eight minutes, could make it tough on the Bruins.

“I don’t know what the PAC (12) atmospheres were like for them, and I don’t know what the Big Ten atmospheres were like for them this year, but I can tell you, it’s not like an SEC atmosphere,” she said.

“There was so much energy in the stadium all three days last weekend. For us, that really just propels us. I mean, it makes moments feel different for us in the game, and it really affects the feel of the entire atmosphere for us in the dugout, I know for sure. So we’re really excited about that, and I do think it will play a factor for the weekend.”

At the end of the day, though, to make it through the weekend will come down to what South Carolina does on the field. And that starts with not making the games feel bigger than they already are.

“Thinking about everything that’s at stake is not going to help us in any way,” Abigail Knight said. “Treating the game as if it’s just between us and the ball. It’s the same game every time you play it. We’ve been talking about how there’s kind of no more logos at this point. It’s just playing the game as good as you can. Just playing clean softball.”

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