No. 21 South Carolina softball went 1-2 in its weekend series against the No. 22 LSU Tigers at Beckham Field.
South Carolina's lone win on Friday night marked both its first Southeastern Conference and ranked victory of the season. The Gamecocks offense struggled in the box for the final two games, giving LSU the series.
South Carolina softball wins 12-inning affair in series opener
The Gamecocks began their weekend series against the LSU Tigers in the longest recorded game in Carolina Softball Stadium history.
Junior pitcher Emma Friedel threw the first two innings in her eighth start of the season for the Gamecocks.
Sophomore infielder Tate Davis hit a solo home run, her fourth of the season, to give the Gamecocks the first run of the game. Senior utility player Jamie Mackay continued the offensive energy with a home run of her own, giving South Carolina an early lead, 2-0.
LSU loaded the bases to start the top of the third, and senior pitcher Jori Heard took the circle for the Gamecocks. Heard would go on to throw the next seven innings of the ball game.
Senior outfielder Jalia Lassiter ran home on a groundout for the Tigers' first run of the game. LSU added to it's total with an RBI double by junior infielder Kylee Edwards, giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead.
Junior center fielder Tori Ensley knocked in the tying run on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the third inning.
Both teams tacked on two runs of their own in the fifth inning. A two-run home run by LSU’s junior shortstop Kylee Edwards put the Tigers back in the lead. South Carolina immediately responded and tied the game after an RBI single by Davis, and an RBI double by senior infielder Arianna Rodi to keep the score even at 5-5.
Following a 15-minute delay, LSU was denied a protest by officials in the top of the sixth inning. Postgame, head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard specified that LSU protested an earpiece she wears to legally communicate with senior catcher Lexi Winters.
No runs were scored by either team for an astounding seven innings after the delay. In the tenth inning, junior pitcher Nealy Lamb replaced Heard to finish the game. Lamb struck out four batters and allowed one hit in her three innings of work.
In the bottom of the 12th inning, after six scoreless innings, Winters hit an RBI double that brought Rodi home to secure the walk-off win for the Gamecocks.
“So all I thought about was staying on top of the ball,” Winters said. “All I could think of in my head was, 'Go Ari, go Ari, go Ari,' and it worked out.”
Gamecocks fail to gain offensive momentum in 5-1 loss
South Carolina lost the second game of the weekend series, 5-1. Senior pitcher Josey Marron was granted her first start of the season.
Junior pitcher Cece Cellura started for the Tigers and proved to be the game's determining factor, tossing a complete game on 98 pitches.
“I thought Cellura had a great day, so I want to give her a ton of credit,” Chastain Woodard said. “Seven innings against her on offense, and we didn't make an adjustment and couldn’t really figure it out.”
Junior second baseman Sierra Daniel knocked in an RBI on a ground-rule double in the second inning, giving LSU a 1-0 lead to start the game. The Tigers continued their momentum by loading the bases later on that inning.
Friedel got the Gamecocks out of the jam after replacing Marron in the circle and recording the last two outs of the inning.
A three-run fourth inning by LSU increased its lead to 4-0. Kylee Edwards stole home on a pitching error and a triple by junior utility player Maddox McKee brought in two more runs, putting an end to Friedel's day.
Freshman pitcher KG Favors took the circle for the top of the sixth. Harris was walked and advanced to second on a groundout. McKee hit an RBI single, pushing Harris to home and upping the lead to 5-0 in favor of the Tigers.
Sophomore shortstop Shae Anderson hit a solo home run to give South Carolina its lone run of the game to bring the final score to 5-1.
South Carolina drops final game of weekend series
South Carolina dropped the series in a 2-1 low-run fashion on Sunday afternoon. Pitching was dominant in this deciding game, as each team managed to record just two hits.
Heard returned to the circle for the final game of the series, striking out seven batters and allowing one hit in 5.2 innings.
In back-to-back games, an LSU pitcher threw the whole seven innings. On Sunday, it was sophomore Jayden Heavener, who ended the game with five strikeouts.
A diving catch by redshirt senior left fielder Quincy Lilio set the tone for the defensive affair in the top of the second inning.
LSU assistant coach Bryce Neal was ejected from the game following a vocal altercation with home plate umpire Lindon Baptiste after a called strike. The defensive energy ensued for South Carolina after Heard threw two more strikeouts, ending the top of the second.
The game remained runless for both teams entering the bottom of the fifth when a solo home run by Mackay gave the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead.
The Tigers quickly erased their deficit in the top of the sixth inning when redshirt sophomore first baseman Tori Edwards knocked in two runs on a double. Edwards' hit was LSU's first of the day.
South Carolina was only able to get one runner on base and did not pose much of a threat in the final two innings, sealing the 2-1 loss against LSU.
What's next?
The Gamecocks face off against the Clemson Tigers to continue the Palmetto Series on March 25, with first pitch set for 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC network.