The South Carolina Gamecocks softball team, currently ranked No. 13 by the NFCA, is preparing for two midweek games. The team will host Charlotte on Tuesday and then travel to Winthrop on Wednesday, with both games scheduled for 6 p.m.
South Carolina enters these matchups with a 9-5 record under head coach Ashley Woodard, now in her second season. Key players include Tate Davis, who leads the team with a .417 batting average; Karley Shelton, who has driven in 20 runs; Arianna Rodi, who leads in home runs with five; Jori Heard, leading in earned run average at 1.42; and Emma Friedel, who tops the team in wins (four) and strikeouts (25).
Charlotte comes into Tuesday’s game holding a 12-4 record under head coach Courtney Breault. Historically, South Carolina has led the series against Charlotte 46-7 and won their last meeting by a score of 10-2 on February 25, 2025.
On Wednesday, South Carolina faces Winthrop (7-7), coached by Kendall Fuller. The Gamecocks have dominated this matchup historically as well, leading the series 59-8-1 and winning their most recent contest against Winthrop by an 18-0 margin earlier last year.
This season marks the program’s 53rd year. In addition to their No. 13 ranking from the NFCA, they are ranked No. 19 by D1Softball and Softball America and No. 22 by USA Softball/ESPN.
The Gamecocks recently competed at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic where they finished with two wins—against Washington and Saint Mary’s—and three losses to top-ranked teams UCLA (No.9), Nebraska (No.10), and Oregon (No.18).
Statistically this season, South Carolina ranks seventh nationally in hit-by-pitches with eighteen so far. Pitcher Nealy Lamb is eleventh nationally for fewest hits allowed per seven innings at just under three hits per game while Quincee Lilio is tied for thirty-third nationally in walks per game at nearly one walk per contest.
Karley Shelton is among national leaders as well: she stands thirty-fourth in RBIs per game and thirty-sixth overall in total RBIs this season. Both Tate Davis and Lexi Winters are tied for thirty-eighth nationally after being hit by pitches four times each.
Arianna Rodi continues to make her mark among active NCAA players: she ranks fifth with forty-nine career home runs and seventh with one hundred nine career walks.
At home since moving into Carolina Softball Stadium in 2013, South Carolina has posted a strong record of success—winning over seventy percent of its games there—and consistently ranks among national leaders in attendance figures across multiple seasons.
In non-conference play over the past nine years, South Carolina holds a .789 winning percentage outside SEC competition—recording notable victories over several major programs during that span—and will play twenty-eight non-conference games this year.
Historically speaking, South Carolina softball has played more than twenty-seven hundred games since its inception fifty-three years ago while maintaining an overall win percentage above sixty-four percent.
Against other schools from within South Carolina since 2011—including an extended winning streak that lasted five seasons—the Gamecocks have recorded ninety-five wins compared to fifteen losses versus Palmetto State opponents.
For more information about South Carolina softball or updates throughout the season visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow their social media channels on Twitter @GamecockSoftbll, Facebook /GamecockSoftball or Instagram @GamecockSoftball.
