South Carolina softball wins four games in Garnet & Black Invitational

South Carolina softball started the weekend just five games away from a gauntlet known as the SEC. The team had one final opportunity to prepare with five home games against Marist, UAB and Queens. 

Besides scoring just one run in a 2-1 upset defeat to Marist on Saturday afternoon, South Carolina outscored their opponents in the rest of the games 46-10. Two of the Gamecocks’ four wins over the weekend were decided by run-rule. 

Here’s how it all went down at Beckham Field over the weekend. 

Game 1 vs. Marist 

It was never in doubt in the first game of the invitational. Tori Ensley hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, and the Gamecocks never looked back en route to an 11-1 run-rule victory. 

Ensley was bumped up to third in the lineup following her grand slam against Charlotte on Tuesday night before the invitational.

“I felt like now is the time, and Tori looks really comfortable,” head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said. “I feel like we’ve given her a chance to really kind of settle in.”

Two more runs crossed the plate in the second, starting with an RBI triple from Nia McKnight down the right field line. Quincee Lilio drove home McKnight with a sacrifice fly. 

The offense exploded for seven runs in the third. Tate Davis, Lexi Winters and Alyssa Hovermale all drove in runs with RBI knocks. McKnight added to her day by sealing the game with a grand slam over the left field wall. 

McKnight finished the day 2-for-2 with seven total bases and five RBI out of the ten-hole. It was her second career home run and first grand slam. 

“I was just trying to see a pitch elevated and just trying to score the run, just one at a time,” McKnight said. “Fortunately, that one went out, but, yeah, just doing whatever I can for the team.”

On the pitching side, KG Favors pitched her best game in a Gamecock uniform so far. The freshman went five innings, allowing one run on four hits in the win. 

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Game 2 vs. UAB

There was much less offense when the Gamecocks picked it back up on Saturday afternoon against the UAB Blazers. South Carolina won 3-2 in come-from-behind fashion. 

The Gamecocks mustered five base hits through the first three innings, but none could cross the plate. Four runners were left on base in those frames. 

Shae Anderson broke the tie with a solo home run in the fourth inning, her third of the season. 

UAB infielder Charlee Bennett gave the Blazers the lead in the top of the sixth with a two-RBI double. The hit ended Jori Heard’s day, who allowed two runs on three hits in 5.1 innings. 

South Carolina responded in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead right back. With two runners in scoring position with two outs, Alyssa Hovermale drove both runners in with a single up the middle. 

Nealy Lamb replaced Heard in the sixth and got the final five outs to earn the win. 

Game 3 vs. Marist

Starting almost immediately after the close win over UAB, South Carolina’s bats went cold in the second Saturday game in a 2-1 loss to Marist. The Gamecocks managed just five hits in the game, with two apiece from Lilio and Karley Shelton. 

Marist scored both runs with one swing in the top of the fourth. Catcher Sienna Kunze took Emma Friedel deep.

Shelton got a run back with a single up the middle in the fifth, but that was all the Gamecocks could get across. 

Four pitchers took the circle for South Carolina, striking out nine while walking five. Julie Kelley got the start, throwing the first 2.1 innings and allowing three hits. Ava Metzger threw a complete game for Marist, fanning eight Gamecock hitters en route to the win. 

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Game 3 vs. Queens

It was an offensive explosion for South Carolina to start its Sunday doubleheader with Queens. The Gamecocks won 25-4 with 19 base hits. Queens surrendered 11 free passes. 

Queens scored three runs in the first two innings, but South Carolina responded each time. The run-heavy first two frames were capped by Tate Davis’ first career grand slam to give the Gamecocks an 8-3 lead. 

The third inning saw 10 Gamecocks cross the plate on seven hits. Ensley, Davis, Natalie Heath and Lilio all drove in runs with base hits. Arianna Rodi capped the inning with a three-run homer, her sixth of the season, to make it 18-3. 

Seven more runs scored in the fourth on six hits en route to the blowout victory. Rodi and Davis accounted for 13 of the 25 RBI and combined for 12 total bases. 

Game 5 vs. Queens 

The bats stayed hot in the final game of the invitational, as South Carolina defeated Queens again, 8-2. Queens two-way player Lindsay Henson clubbed a two-run homer in the top of the first, but that would be all the runs the Royals got across. 

The Gamecocks responded with three of their own in the bottom half with RBI knocks from Shelton, Ensley and Winters. After two more runs in the second, Davis smacked her second homer of the tournament in the third. 

In the fifth, Anderson hit a two-run shot, her second of the tournament and her fourth in eight days. 

Heard threw the final 4.2 innings to record the win. South Carolina’s ace struck out eight batters while allowing three hits. 

Next up

There are no breaks ahead for the Gamecocks, who welcome No. 3 Texas into town on Friday for a three-game set. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m on SEC Network+. 

The Gamecocks will open SEC play on Friday when they welcome No. 3 Texas into town for a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m on SEC Network+. 

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