South Carolina softball throttled by Alabama in 'pretty awful performance' in big series opener

South Carolina comes into this weekend with a lot to play for. As things currently stand, the Gamecocks are very much in a position to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

Entering the final weekend of the regular season, a series win would almost certainly lock up a hosting bid. But to do that, South Carolina will now need to win the next two games against No. 19 Alabama. The No. 14 Gamecocks opened the three-game series with a 13-1 run-rule loss on Thursday.

“Pretty awful performance on our part. Really disappointed,” head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said. “Just when it comes down to it, we just have to perform better. … We’ve got to communicate better. We’ve got to play to get better. No excuses. We just did not perform.”

After Alabama scored a run in the first inning on a throwing error by Jori Heard, the Tide broke the game open with 10 runs in the second. Heard only lasted 1.1 innings and gave up three more runs before being taken out. It only got worse from there as South Carolina (37-14, 11-11 SEC) would have to make two more pitching changes in the frame before coming back up to bat.

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Sam Gress only recorded one out and surrendered six runs on five hits. She was at the mercy of some bad luck as Alabama had a pair of bloop hits that fell and brought home three runs.

Already in a deep hole, Kadie Becker came in to try and get the final out of the inning with two runners on. But on the first pitch she threw, Marlie Giles crushed a three-run homer over the left centerfield wall to cap off the scoring.

In total, Alabama scored 10 runs on nine hits and sent 13 batters to the plate in the second. It added two more runs off Becker in the fourth, but the damage had already been done by that point.

The Gamecocks hurt themselves with three costly errors over the five-inning affair. The first two each led to runs as Heard’s first-inning overthrow fielding a weakly hit groundball allowed one run to score. Then, in the rough second inning, the first of 10 runs scored on a single into left field. Except it could’ve been avoided had the ball not gone underneath Emily Vinson’s glove, letting the runner at second make it home. There was also a dropped flyball by right fielder Abigail Knight to open the fifth, but it didn’t lead to any runs coming across.

Their problems were also prevalent in other aspects of the game. After Quincee Lilio reached base on a dropped pop-up in shallow left field, she would eventually be thrown out at second base when she strayed too far from the base while retreating on a groundball hit to the left side of the infield.

“Very frustrating, very demoralizing,” Chastain Woodard said. “We’ve played well all year, and so just as their coach to know that they’re so much better than that. Yeah, it’s really frustrating.”

The Gamecocks got on the board with an RBI single by Emma Sellers in the second. However, it would be a tough night for the offense going up against Alabama starting pitcher Jocelyn Briski.

Briski pitched four strong innings, giving up one run on three hits with three strikeouts and one walk. South Carolina had some key opportunities to bring home runs and couldn’t do so throughout the evening. It went 2-for-10 with runners on base and 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

The rough performance may not do much to hurt the team’s overall resume. They came into the day in a four-way tie for seventh in the SEC standings, but will drop behind Alabama after the loss. LSU and Mississippi State are also 11-10. The top nine teams will get a one-round bye in next week’s SEC Tournament, while the top four get a double bye.

“I mean, tonight isn’t going to dictate any of that road for us because of our body of work, most likely,” Chastain Woodard said. “So, you know, just trying to keep a good perspective, I think, is really important for everyone involved, the staff, the fans, the players. But it’s unacceptable performance, no matter what, to be honest.”

Up next: South Carolina will look to even the series in game two on Friday night. First pitch is at 6 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.

“They’re walking out of this building really upset and really pissed about the performance, which is what you want. I mean, they’re a bunch of competitors, and, you know, they’re just as competitive as I am, but I don’t play the game for them,” Chastain Woodard said. “It’s like they got to show up tomorrow, and they’ve got to want to play better, and they’ve got to just make happen. And there really is no other option for them.”

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