South Carolina softball survives pitcher’s duel against Utah in first game of Durham Regional
South Carolina defeated Utah 2-1 Friday in the first game of the regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
The matchup between the two schools marked a rematch dating back to February 15 when South Carolina defeated Utah 9-1 in six innings on a neutral site in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Senior pitcher Alana Vawter got the start for the Gamecocks (34-22, 8-16 SEC) Friday. Vawter came into the tournament with a 16-12 record and a 2.09 ERA.
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Vawter continued her sensational pitching against Utah. Vawter threw a complete game on 101 pitches while surrendering just one run and four hits.
Utah struck first on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning off a double to center field to give the Utes a 1-0 lead.
But it did not take long for the Gamecocks to punch right back. In the bottom of the third, a walk and a double gave the Gamecocks with runners on second and third base with no outs.
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Catcher Jen Cummings put South Carolina on the board with a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Aniyah Black followed suit with a single into shallow right field to give South Carolina its first lead of the game. And this RBI hit would be the difference in the game.
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The pitcher’s duel picked right back up after the third. South Carolina struggled to crack Utah pitcher Mariah Lopez after their two-run inning. Lopez pitched six innings while giving up only four hits and two runs.
But Vawter closed it out in the seventh, forcing the Utes to fly out to left field for the final out of the game and push South Carolina into the winner’s bracket in the regional round.
The game saw a total of eight combined hits between the two schools, just four hits for each team.
Up next: South Carolina will advance further into the winner’s bracket of the regional as the Gamecocks will take on the winner of Morgan State vs. Duke. First pitch is at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
