The South Carolina Gamecocks gave up three unanswered runs as they fell to the No. 13/14 UCF Knights 4-1 in the opening game of the Tallahassee Regional at the Seminole Softball Complex in Tallahassee, Florida.
The Knights began with a three-run fourth inning. After two hit-by-pitches and a walk, the bases were loaded. The next batter laid down a line drive to shortstop and barely beat the throw, allowing one runner to score and break the tie.
A Gamecock error came just after that to allow two more runners to score and giving the Knights at 3-0 lead. UCF extended their lead in the fifth inning after a RBI single to left.
South Carolina got one runner across the bases in the seventh inning with a pair of doubles by junior Alaynie Paige and sophomore Victoria Williams. However, the rally came too late as UCF came out on top with a 4-1 victory.
The Gamecocks has several opportunities to score but could not come through. The Gamecocks left ten runners on base, including two innings with the bases loaded. After the game, South Carolina head coach Beverly Smith was frustrated with her team's scoring efforts.
"We left ten [batters] on,” Smith said. “Their pitching staff is excellent. Both of those pitchers (Mackenzie Audas and Shelby Turnier) are sub-1.00 [ERA] for a reason,” said Smith. They did a nice job. Audas kept us off balance with the changeup early, and Turnier came in and certainly did a nice job punching that outside corner. We were just one hit away from being able to capitalize."
Turnier picked up the win in relief for UCF, throwing three shutout innings before letting the Gamecocks score with a single in the seventh. Sophomore Nickie Blue took the loss for the Gamecocks in only four innings of work. She struck out three.
The Gamecocks will face Dartmouth, the winner against the Florida St. game, Saturday at 2:20 p.m. for the first elimination game of the day.