Gamecocks in desperate need of a win after being swept at Tennessee
Heading into the fourth game of the season, the South Carolina softball team was undefeated and coming off a dominant victory over Coastal Carolina behind Julie Sarratt's complete-game no-hitter.
In that fourth game, its fortunes changed as it was handed its first loss of the season from an unlikely source: USC Upstate.
Now, the Gamecocks come into a rematch with the Spartans with entirely different circumstances, having been swept in each of their last three SEC series.
USC's series loss against No. 11 Tennessee was especially devastating, losing on a UT walk-off on both Friday and Sunday. The Gamecocks lost off a walk-off hit in game three of the Auburn series as well.
"We told them at the end of game three that it was just heartbreaking — that was the only way to describe it. It was just a heartbreaking loss," said USC coach Beverly Smith. "We keep encouraging them to keep their heads up. We told them how proud we were of the way they fought in that game — they stayed in it."
Despite the sweep, Smith has seen improvement from the two series, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
"If you go back and compare it to the Auburn series, we kept the Auburn games close and didn't get that key hit when we needed it, and on Friday night, we got that key hit," Smith said. "Laura Mendes had a great two-run home run for us and kind of sparked us. Certainly, a couple things didn't go our way and we ended up going into extra innings, and that was a tough one to watch slip away."
As far as pitching goes, April Borchardt shined in the loss to Tennessee on Saturday, pitching 3.1 innings with four hits, a run, a walk and two strikeouts.
"April has done a real good job," Smith said. "Certainly, game two didn't start off the way we wanted it to. We fell behind early, and April came in and kind of stopped the bleeding. She's done a super job. If you look, April hasn't started all year, but she's come in a relief role, mixed speeds, kept batters off-balance; she's done a great job."
And while the Gamecocks might be looking to avenge the early loss to the Spartans, the priority is getting a win and momentum before heading into another SEC series, this time against Alabama.
"I think every game for us we approach the same way," Smith said. "I don't think it's any bigger just because we lost before. USC Upstate is a very worthy opponent. They've got an excellent pitcher and we're going to go out like we do in any ballgame: just to get the win."
The Spartans are just as hungry for a win, having been swept by Lipscomb leading up to the matchup against Carolina. There's also something to be said for the mental edge that USC Upstate might have on its side as it has already beaten the Gamecocks at home, while the Gamecocks struggle to close out a game.
Smith, however, doesn't see it that way.
"I think they're sensing that we're right there," Smith said. "We've certainly had the big hits that we needed in some key situations to win, but it just didn't happen. I think we're getting closer and they feel that."