South Carolina softball wins huge road series over top-5 LSU Tigers

South Carolina softball coach Ashley Chastain Woodard and her team lost five games in a row following their 20-0 start, but the Gamecocks have bounced back in a big way. USC has won three series against top-15 opponents since then and knocked off the rival Clemson Tigers in the mid-week. This weekend saw USC travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and take down the country’s No. 3 team in the LSU Tigers in a top-10 matchup.

Here’s a recap of how the winning weekend went down.

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Game One

There’s not much to talk about from Friday night’s game one. The tough road series began in disastrous fashion as South Carolina got mollywhopped by a score of 11-3. The run-rule defeat was the first of the year for the Gamecocks.

Nealy Lamb, Jori Heard, and Kadie Becker all took the circle for USC in this one, and none of them could cool off the hot Bayou Bengal offense. LSU logged nine hits, and thanks to a patient approach that netted seven walks, the Tigers had at least four hits or walks in all but one inning.

On offense, Chastain Woodard’s group logged zero extra-base hits, a rarity for a team ranked 3rd nationally in doubles. They also only worked one walk.

The inauspicious start to the series didn’t offer too many feelings of optimism for the garnet and black. However, some bad weather on Saturday moved game two to Sunday (as part of a double-header) and gave the Gamecocks an extra day to recover mentally from the bad showing on Friday night.

Game Two

Game two wasn’t the prettiest game of softball ever played, but Carolina fans wound up happy with a 5-3 win. The Gamecocks got out to a quick 1-0 lead after a two-error inning from LSU. Sam Gress started (and eventually finished) the first of two Sunday games, and despite battling her command at times, pitched really well.

Even after giving up a home run in the 5th inning that surrendered the lead, Gress kept fighting. In all, she allowed 10 baserunners but limited the damage to just three runs.

Mirroring the fight and perseverance of their starting pitcher, the Gamecock offense never gave up, either. Quincee Lilio reached base three times as USC sent at least six batters to the plate in five separate innings.

Carolina took the lead in the 7th when Lilio and Karley Shelton smacked back-to-back doubles and Ella Chancey dunked a single just out of the infield. LSU, though, tied the score in the bottom half of the frame. The offense broke through for two runs in the 8th despite only registering a pair of singles in the inning. Then, Gress came back out to shut the door, pitching around a Tiger double for the complete game victory.

Game Three

Riding the momentum from the extra-innings win earlier in the day, South Carolina took the series behind dominant pitching. The 4-1 win was the team’s 27th of the season.

Jori Heard got the start in the circle and earned some redemption from her Friday night struggles. In six innings pitched, she gave up just one run (though it was earned, it likely never would have scored without an error advancing base runners) and six total base runners. Sam Gress came back out in the 7th to seal the series-clinching victory.

The Gamecock bats struck out 10 times in this one but had a solid approach at the plate, nonetheless. Working five walks, South Carolina reached base 11 total times against All-SEC hopeful Jayden Heavener.

An Arianna Rodi double and Mya Flindt home run were the only extra-base hits for either team in the finale. Both provided big insurance runs for USC as Rodi’s pinch runner Chloe Lackey and Flindt were the third and fourth runs of the ball game. With how Heard and Gress pitched, that lead proved to be insurmountable.

Next Up

South Carolina softball will return home next week. The Gamecocks play once in the mid-week before another three-game weekend series in conference play.

First, USC will welcome the Wofford Terriers to Beckham Field for a Tuesday evening showdown. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. SEC Network+ will stream the contest.

Then, in a Friday-Saturday-Sunday series, the Ole Miss Rebels represent another top-20 opponent. With a series win over Missouri (and a sweep still possible on Monday), the Rebels might push into the top 15. Below are the game times and television/streaming information for the series.

• Game 1: Friday, April 3rd (6:00 p.m.) streamed on SEC Network+
• Game 2: Saturday, April 4th (Noon) broadcast on SEC Network, streamed on ESPN app
• Game 3: Sunday, April 5th (3:00 p.m.) broadcast on SEC Network, streamed on ESPN app

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