South Carolina softball makes statement with series sweep of Duke

After three weeks of regular season tournaments, the South Carolina softball team had its first true three-game series of the 2025 campaign this past weekend. The Gamecocks, who had played all but one of their games at Beckham Field this year, set their sights on taking on the Duke Blue Devils.

Heading into this series, Duke was, by no means, a push-over opponent. Four softball polls – D1Softball.com, Softball America, ESPN/USA Softball, and NFCA Coaches – placed the Blue Devils in their respective top 10s.

South Carolina and Duke also faced each other twice in the NCAA Tournament last year. The Blue Devils hosted the four-team regional in Durham and won both their contests against the Gamecocks by a combined score of 18-1.

On paper, it seemed like Duke would be the opponent that put an end to South Carolina’s season-opening win streak. The Gamecocks, however, had other plans, as they went on to sweep the Blue Devils in their weekend series.

Here’s how they did it.

Get the inside scoop on all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days—lock in this special offer!

Game one

Neither squad held back on offense as they scored 21 combined runs during the series opener. When it was all said and done, South Carolina emerged victorious by a 14-7 score.

The Gamecocks have been scoring runs in bunches all season long, and Friday served as yet another example of that. The team’s 14 runs were generated across two frames – six in the third inning, and eight in the seventh.

South Carolina’s offense was not the first to do damage, though. Duke scored one run in the bottom of the first after Amiah Burgess brought Aminah Vega, who hit a triple an at-bat prior, home to score on an RBI single.

Two quiet innings for the Gamecocks then led to their first scoring outburst of the game in the top of the third. South Carolina generated five hits, in addition to having two hit batsmen reach base, in a frame that was headlined by a two-out, three-run home run by Arianna Rodi.

The Blue Devils began chipping away at the Gamecocks’ lead as the game went along. Duke plated one run in the fourth on a home run by Vega, and RBI doubles by Kairi Rodriguez and KK Mathis in the fourth made it a 6-4 ball game.

But South Carolina’s next scoring run left behind any doubt that they could win. In the top of the seventh, the Gamecocks strung together six hits and two walks. All eight of those baserunners scored. Three of those runs came on another two-out home run, this time by Karley Shelton.

The Blue Devils scored three more runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it proved to be too little, too late.

Game two

Compared to the first game of the series, Saturday’s contest looked much more like a pitchers’ duel. With Jori Heard starting in the circle, there was no other outcome, as South Carolina clinched a series win with a 4-2 victory.

Heard, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, delivered another strong performance. She did allow five hits over 4 1/3 innings, but only one run came home to score. Heart, in the process, claimed her 10th victory of the campaign.

Unlike their previous game, the Gamecocks got the offense started with another display of power by Rodi. Two at-bats after Quincee Lilio led off the game with a single, Rodi launched a home run to give South Carolina an early 2-0 lead.

By the end of the sixth, Duke had come back and tied the game. Ana Gold launched a solo home run in the bottom of the third, and Mathis drove in another run on a single three frames later.

South Carolina would not let the game go into extra innings, though, as it scored another two runs in the seventh. One of those runs came on an RBI single by Shelton, the other on a sacrifice fly by Rodi.

Game three

Early in the Gamecocks’ season finale, it looked like their 18-game winning streak would be in jeopardy. The Blue Devils scored four runs in the bottom of the first, knocking Nealy Lamb, South Carolina’s starter, out of the game.

But the Gamecocks rebounded quickly with three runs in the second and five more in the third on its way to securing the sweep with a 12-7 win.

South Carolina’s power was on full display in the game’s early innings, as the Gamecocks scored six of its first eight runs on home runs. Natalie Heath hit her first round-tripper of the season in the second; both Rodi and Abigail Knight followed suit in the third. RBI doubles by Brooke Blankenship and Lexi Winters brought home the team’s other two runs.

Duke made it a one-run ball game in the fourth with a three-run home run by Rodriguez, but its bats would go quiet for the rest of the contest. From the fifth inning onward, the Blue Devils mustered just two singles.

Meanwhile, South Carolina scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to put any hopes of a comeback to rest. Winters hit the Gamecocks’ fourth home run of the game with a two-out solo shot.

Next up

South Carolina will look to keep its season-opening winning streak alive when it returns home to take on Youngstown State. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will be streamed on the SEC Network+.

Visit The Insiders Forum, our exclusive Gamecocks-only, no-trolls message board!