Two-Out Bandits! South Carolina run rules North Florida to advance to Super Regional

Once Brooke Blankenship’s RBI single broke a scoreless tie and gave South Carolina its first hit with two outs in the fourth inning, the pressure came off Abigail Knight’s shoulders. If Blankenship could do it, so could she.

On the next pitch, the first of her at-bat, Knight got a good one to hit in the zone and ripped a line-drive single into right field, plating another run. When the sixth-year outfielder got back to the dugout, she coined a new nickname for the Gamecocks: The Two-Out Bandits.

It was fitting to say the least, especially after all eight of South Carolina’s runs came with two outs, as it powered its way to an 8-0 run-rule win over North Florida in the Columbia Regional final.

“Abby’s right when she talks about contagious. Everything you do is contagious, whether it’s good or bad,” head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said. “… That’s how you start stringing stuff together. And you look up and all of a sudden, you scored eight runs with two outs. So that’s who we were.”

The No. 8 Gamecocks (43-15), who swept through regional play, will return to a Super Regional for the first time since 2018. Since they’re a top-eight seed, they’ll host and face No. 9 UCLA or UC Santa Barbara out of the Los Angeles Regional.

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The pair of two-out runs scored in the fourth was just the start of a complete shift in the game. After Ospreys starter Allison Benning retired the first two batters in the fifth, a Karley Shelton single led to Arianna Rodi driving her in with an RBI double that rolled to the wall in right centerfield.

Rodi’s run-scoring hit opened the floodgates for South Carolina to keep attacking with two outs. Lexi Winters followed with a two-strike single into center to bring home another run. Then, after a walk to Ella Chancey, the Gamecocks had knocked Benning out of the game after she had given up four runs.

Just like they did to start the scoring an inning earlier, Blankenship and Knight both delivered two-run singles to put South Carolina on the verge of winning by run-rule. It didn’t take long for that to eventually happen as Emma Sellers hit a single into left, scoring Knight to send the team to Supers.

“I would be lying if I said I didn’t know that I was the winning run,” Knight said. “I thought about it on deck, but you’re never trying to think about like going yard if the bases get loaded or anything like that. … I knew I just had to do my job to get on base, and that’s what happened.”

For the day, the Gamecocks were 8-for-13 (.615) with two outs and 6-for-7 (.857) with runners in scoring position. 12 of the 16 runs they scored throughout the weekend came in two-out situations, further solidifying the validity of the nickname.

“I think it’s so awesome that we can find so many ways to win,” Blankenship said. “We have the ability for the pitchers to shut out the other team, and like yesterday, only had to score a few, or the bats come alive and we score eight there to win the game. So I think that’s what’s really exciting about our team.”

The runs were enough on their own to propel South Carolina to win on Sunday. But for the second straight day, Sam Gress’ start in the circle put the rest of the team in a position to be successful.

Gress was just as good, if not better, than she was when she tossed 4.2 scoreless innings against North Florida on Saturday. The sixth-year pitcher threw four shutout innings, giving up three hits with a strikeout and a walk.

The Ospreys had multiple opportunities to score while Gress was in the circle, but never got the big hit. In three of the first four innings, they had a runner in scoring position with two outs and came up empty every time.

“Sam just has kind of like the refuse to lose mentality,” Chastain Woodard said. “I think that always plays her stuff up, like she always gives herself a chance to get out, no matter what the ball is doing. So I thought she was locked in.”

By the time Jori Heard came in and retired the side in the fifth, North Florida was out of chances as its season came to an end. Meanwhile, South Carolina moves one step closer towards its ultimate goal.

“We want to make plans to go to Oklahoma at the end of the Super Regional next weekend, and so I think it’ll put wind in our sails,” Chastain Woodard said. “I’m not super worried about them being in the present moment, because at this point, they know what we’ve got to do.”

Up next: South Carolina will host a Super Regional next weekend, May 22-25, at Beckham Field. The Gamecocks will face the winner of the Los Angeles Regional, which will either be No. 9 UCLA or UC Santa Barbara.

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