The South Carolina Gamecocks softball team, ranked 16th nationally, secured two victories on Friday during the opening day of the Carolina Classic in Columbia. The team defeated Louisville 9-1 in a five-inning run-rule game and later won 6-2 against Boston University.
Tate Davis led all players with four hits and contributed two RBIs across both games. Karley Shelton also made an impact with three hits and four RBIs.
In the first game, Louisville scored early in the top of the first inning, but South Carolina responded quickly. Arianna Rodi drew a walk with two outs in the bottom of the first, followed by Davis hitting a double that allowed Rodi to score from first base. The Gamecocks added two more runs in the fourth inning through a sacrifice bunt by Shae Anderson and an RBI single from Quincee Lilio.
A six-run fifth inning sealed the win for South Carolina. Tori Ensley hit a sacrifice fly to bring in one run, Lexi Winters hit her first home run of the season—a two-run shot—and Shelton drove in two more runs with a single. Davis ended the game with a flare to right field that brought pinch runner Dakota Potter home.
Jori Heard earned her first win of the season after pitching 1 1/3 innings of relief without allowing any batters to reach base.
In the second game, Emma Friedel delivered five strong innings for South Carolina, allowing just two hits and striking out six batters—a season high for her. Ensley opened scoring with an RBI double in the second inning and later scored on a passed ball. Jamie Mackay added another run with an RBI single in the fourth inning, while Shelton’s two-out triple brought home two more runs in the sixth.
Boston University loaded the bases and scored twice in their final at-bat, but freshman Ansley Bennett came on as relief pitcher to strike out consecutive batters and earn her first career save.
South Carolina is scheduled to face Boston University again on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., followed by a matchup against Kennesaw State to conclude their participation in the Carolina Classic.
For updates on South Carolina Softball, fans can visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow @GamecockSoftbll on Twitter, /GamecockSoftball on Facebook, and @GamecockSoftball on Instagram.
