Rodi breaks single-season homer record to help South Carolina advance in SEC Tournament
This is nothing new for Arianna Rodi. Time and time again, when South Carolina has needed its overwhelmingly top power threat to come through with a big swing, she’s done so.
Fighting back from an early two-run deficit, the Gamecocks were hitting the ball hard, but Alabama’s defense kept taking away potential hits and runs with great plays in the field. So Rodi decided to hit the ball where the Crimson Tide weren’t.
On a first pitch from Jocelyn Briski that hung in the zone, Rodi got all of it and clobbered a two-run home run in the fifth inning. This was her 12th go-ahead blast of the year, which leads the SEC and is the second-most in Division I softball.
More importantly, it propelled the Gamecocks (40-14) to a 6-2 win in the second round of the SEC Tournament. It’s their second 40-win season in the last three years and the 13th time it’s been done in program history. They’ll face Texas A&M in the quarterfinals round on Thursday.
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Rodi’s magical evening wasn’t quite over yet, though. In the next inning, she crushed another two-run homer, nearly identical to the first one she hit as it sailed over the left field wall. She now owns the program record for the most home runs hit in a single season with 16.
The junior first baseman, who went 3-for-4, also became the first Gamecock with a multi-homer game in the SEC Tournament.
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It gave the Gamecocks’ pitching the run support it needed to shut Alabama’s lineup down the rest of the way. Sam Gress got the start in the circle and struggled early, giving up two runs in the first inning. She settled in after that and only gave up two more hits in four innings of work.
Jori Heard picked up where Gress left off after she exited by retiring the first six batters she faced before giving up a hit. She pitched three scoreless innings and struck out four without issuing a walk.
After the two quick runs on two hits in the first, Alabama struggled at the plate for the rest of the game against Gress and Heard. The Tide only recorded five hits and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
Up next: South Carolina will face Texas A&M on Thursday for a chance to go to the SEC Tournament semifinals. First pitch will be at 8 p.m. on SEC Network.
