South Carolina softball looking to replicate last year's postseason success in SEC Tournament

The South Carolina softball team heads into the 2024 SEC Tournament in nearly the same position it was last year.

The Gamecocks finished the 2023 regular season with a 34-19 record. After going 9-15 mark against conference foes, the team entered the tournament as a No. 10 seed.

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Followers of men’s and women’s college basketball know that conference tournaments can be filled with upsets and provide lower-seeded teams an opportunity to make deep runs. Last year, the Gamecocks took that opportunity and ran with it.

South Carolina kicked off its SEC Tournament campaign with an extra-inning win over No. 7 seed Texas A&M. Then, it rattled off upset victories over No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 3 seed Auburn before meeting Tennessee in the championship. The Gamecocks’ postseason magic ended in that game, as it fell to the top-seeded Volunteers 3-1.

South Carolina is looking to repeat last year’s postseason success in this season’s edition of the SEC Tournament as a No. 11 seed. But first, let’s recap the Gamecocks’ 2024 season up to this point.

How South Carolina got here

South Carolina entered the season as D1 Softball’s No. 23 team in the country. The Gamecocks answered the call with a hot stretch to begin the season, including during its open weekend. The team earned two wins each over Virginia and Jacksonville State and added another over UNC Greensboro to start the campaign 5-0.

By the time South Carolina played its first SEC contest, its record had climbed to 18-2. The Gamecocks’ pitching staff was one of the top units in the country, limiting opponents to three runs or fewer in 16 of those games.

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There was no shortage of strong individual pitching performances at this point of the season, the most impressive of which came from Jori Heard. The sophomore pitcher threw the 11th perfect game in program history on March 2 against Bethune-Cookman, striking out four batters over seven innings.

From that point onward, South Carolina saw a significant uptick in competition over eight weeks of SEC play. The Gamecocks went 8-16 and won just two total series against conference opponents, including a sweep of Ole Miss on March 29-31.

South Carolina was also swept three separate times during the regular season — to Texas A&M, Tennessee and Missouri.

What to watch for

Pitching prowess — Despite its overall struggles SEC play, the Gamecocks’ pitching has been its calling card throughout the season. South Carolina ranks second in the conference in earned run average (2.05).

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Its staff is led by fifth-year Alawna Vawter, a transfer from Stanford who was named to the Preseason All-SEC Team. Vawter has amassed a 15-11 record, 1.93 ERA and 95 strikeouts over 162 innings. Opponents are hitting just .226 against her this season.

Vawter, Heard and freshman pitcher Sage Mardjetko have started all but eight of South Carolina’s games this season. Mardjetko has impressed in her debut campaign with the Gamecocks, earning a 2.53 ERA and striking out nearly one batter per inning (104 punchouts over 108 innings).

Offense must perform against higher-seeded competition — South Carolina has faced some of the best softball teams in the country during conference play. It will have to do so again if it makes a deep run in the SEC Tournament.

But the Gamecocks have struggled offensively against many of these top teams. South Carolina has been outscored 79-42 and averaged just two runs per game in 21 contests against ranked SEC opponents. That will have to change for the Gamecocks to go far in the tournament.

Game one details

South Carolina will take on No. 6 seed Mississippi State in its first game of the SEC Tournament. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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