It only took one.
On a day when South Carolina softball had to scrap and claw for anything it could get against North Florida ace Allison Benning, the softest hit of all made the difference.
South Carolina beat North Florida 3-0 in the winner's bracket game of the Columbia Regional, clinching a spot in the regional final. The Gamecocks are now one win away from their first trip to a Super Regional since 2018, and will have two opportunities to pick up that win tomorrow.
"We gathered up in the fourth or fifth and just kind of talked about what our focus or intent was on," head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said. "I honestly felt like we were focused in a little too much on Benning itself and just trying to beat her instead of okay, what is the game giving us right now?"
The key moment of a tense pitcher’s duel happened with two outs in the sixth inning. South Carolina (42-15) only had two hits all day to that point, but slugger Arianna Rodi worked a walk and pinch runner Chloe Lackey picked her up in a situation where one run could have been enough to steal the game.
Ella Chancey blooped a double into shallow right field against a whipping wind which ate up flyballs all day, dropping in for Lackey to made it third.
But North Florida right fielder Chloe Culp bobbled it, then her throw towards home skipped away from catcher Mackenzie Woods, allowing Lackey to come all the way around on the single + error and cross with the game’s first run.
"I thought on a clean play she's [Lackey] probably at third," Chastain Woodard said. "The bobble made her round third, then the throw being off allowed her to score. We definitely capitalized on two mistakes that they made."
It was the only error of the day for either team, but the timing could not have been better for the Gamecocks.
"I was just trying to keep it simple," Chancey said. "Just find a way to poke something through. When I saw it go down the line I knew that itd a good chance of at least getting Chloe to third, and of course the right fielder booted it and she was able to score."
Two more free passes knocked Benning out of the game with 110 pitches and loaded the bases for Emma Sellers, who lined a two-run single into left field for a pair of crucial insurance runs.
Starting pitcher Sam Gress handled most of the day on the mound, but not without some struggles. North Florida (46-14) scattered six hits throughout the day, but Gress answered the bell every time to preserve the tie. The Ospreys loaded the bases in the first inning with two hits and a walk, but a tapper back to Gress ended the threat. She worked around a second inning walk, a walk and a single in the third and lead-off singles in both the fourth and fifth innings.
“I know that I can get out of any jam," Gress said. "It takes one pitch. We had two outs there, so it took one pitch. That’s kind of what I tell myself in those moments. Just execute one pitch, and then you’re out of it.”
Gress recorded 14 outs before giving way to Jori Heard, the hero of yesterday’s victory. Heard retired 16 of 17 batters against Elon and picked up right where she left off by sitting down all seven hitters she faced today.
Game two of Saturday’s tripleheader at Beckham Field will be the elimination game between Friday’s losers, Virginia and Elon. The winner of that game will turn around and play another elimination game against North Florida, with that winner making it through the loser’s bracket to meet South Carolina in tomorrow’s regional final.
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