South Carolina softball feeling prepared as conference play nears

Gamecock softball’s trip to Cathedral City, California for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic wasn’t ideal from a win-loss standpoint, but it was one that gave the team the necessary preparation for conference play.

“We were really tested toe-to-toe out west, felt like we played in World Series caliber games,” head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard said.

The Gamecocks dropped three of their five games out west, all to ranked opponents. The losses to No. 9 UCLA and No. 18 Oregon were decided by one run. Now sitting at 11-5 on the year, all five losses have come at the hands of a ranked opponent.

Chastain Woodard’s team got a mental win to close out the tournament with their win over St. Mary’s in a 4-2 comeback victory. First pitch was less than an hour after the loss to UCLA, the same team that eliminated South Carolina in last year’s postseason.

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The Gamecock head coach said she learned more of what her team can do in that win.

“Well, I think we learned how to come back and win from behind,” Chastain Woodard said. “We hadn’t really been able to do that yet this year.”

Emma Friedel was a catalyst in that win against the Gaels. After starter Julie Kelley surrendered two runs in the first inning, freshman KG Favors started the second. Favors faced four batters before Friedel entered, who inherited two runners on with two outs.

Friedel’s first pitch hit St. Mary’s third baseman Sam Buckley loading the bases. In the high-leverage spot, Friedel struck the next batter out swinging, a rush of momentum for the Gamecock dugout.

Friedel pitched the final 5.1 innings, allowing no runs and striking out eight more St. Mary’s hitters. South Carolina’s offense hit a pair of late-inning home runs, and Karley Shelton’s two-RBI single gave the Gamecocks their first lead in the seventh inning. Friedel was the pitcher of record in the win, her fourth of the season.

Friedel got the start when the Gamecocks returned home to face Charlotte on Tuesday night, recording her fifth win with four innings of one-run ball. Chastain Woodard, playing her former team, was more focused on giving her pitcher another chance in the circle.

“(I) wanted to get her back out on the field as quick as possible, just to continue to push her in the right direction,” Chastain Woodard said. “Especially as we’re inching here up to conference play that is upon us.
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After the Garnet & Black Invitational this weekend, conference play will begin as the Gamecocks take on Texas on March 6. Still ranked in every major poll, South Carolina lands at 11th out of 11 SEC teams. Texas, ranked third on all polls, will be just the next of many tests for the Gamecocks.

With 17 of the next 18 games at home, the Gamecocks will have every opportunity to right the ship. South Carolina is 41-9 under Chastain Woodard thus far at Beckham Field.

Chastain Woodard said she’s ready to rewrite the season after the loaded non-conference slate.

“I think I’m looking for a lot of wins, you know,” Chastain Woodard said. “And honestly, as we start conference play, we kind of turn the page to a new chapter of the season.”

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