The South Carolina Gamecocks softball team, currently ranked 19th nationally, is set to host the Garnet & Black Invitational from February 27 to March 1 at Carolina Softball Stadium. The tournament will feature Marist, Queens University Charlotte, and UAB.
This marks the third and final home tournament for the Gamecocks this season. The schedule begins Friday with UAB facing Marist at noon, followed by UAB against Queens University Charlotte at 2:30 p.m., and South Carolina playing Marist at 5:00 p.m. Games continue throughout Saturday and Sunday, concluding with two matchups between South Carolina and Queens on Sunday.
South Carolina enters the tournament with an 11-5 record under second-year head coach Ashley Woodard. Key players include Quincee Lilio leading in batting average (.452), Karley Shelton in RBIs (20), Arianna Rodi in home runs (5), Jori Heard in ERA (1.22), and Emma Friedel leading both strikeouts (30) and wins (5).
Marist holds a 5-8 record under longtime coach Joe Ausanio. South Carolina has played Marist only once before, securing a narrow win during the NCAA Tournament last year. This weekend marks the first meeting between South Carolina and Queens University Charlotte, who are led by Kella Armstrong.
UAB comes into the event with a 7-8 record under first-year coach Taylor Smartt. The teams have met just once previously; South Carolina won that game in Columbia back in 2002.
The Gamecocks are coming off a performance at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where they went 2-3, defeating Washington and Saint Mary’s but losing to three top-20 teams: UCLA, Nebraska, and Oregon.
In national statistics, South Carolina ranks sixth for being hit by pitches this season with 19 instances. They are also among leaders for walks drawn (13th nationally) and double plays turned (15th). Individually, Lilio and Rodi are tied for twelfth nationwide with one walk per game each; Lilio is also among leaders in on-base percentage while Friedel ranks thirty-first nationally for pitching wins.
Arianna Rodi is notable among active NCAA players for her career totals—fifth overall in home runs (49) and fourth in career walks (113). Alyssa Hovermale recently hit her first career home run against Winthrop.
Since its opening in 2013, Carolina Softball Stadium has seen consistent success for the Gamecocks at home games. The team has maintained high attendance rankings over recent years except during pandemic disruptions.
Non-conference play continues to be strong for South Carolina; over nine years they have achieved a .790 winning percentage outside SEC competition. In total this season they will play twenty-eight non-conference games—with most hosted at their home stadium.
Tournament history favors South Carolina as well—the program has gone 51-8 over seven seasons of hosting the Gamecock Invitational series of tournaments. Overall across all home tournaments since then—including events like the Carolina Classic—the team boasts a record of 101-11 across their past one hundred twelve games.
South Carolina’s program history spans fifty-three years with more than seventeen hundred wins recorded out of over twenty-seven hundred games played.
For updates on South Carolina softball results or news about upcoming events like this weekend’s invitational, fans can visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow @GamecockSoftbll on Twitter along with other official social media channels.
