Sept. 24, 2014 COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina hosts Charlotte in free fall softball exhibition on Friday night at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. EDT.

The Gamecocks split their opening two games at North Carolina, exploding for 10 runs in the game-two win. Julie Sarratt, one of four seniors back for fifth-year Gamecock head coach Beverly Smith, tossed six innings in the two games while giving up only one earned run in the outings. She stands in the top 15 in many pitching categories with one year left to play.

Charlotte went 20-29 last year, making the Conference USA Tournament in the process. Team MVP and pitcher Lexi Betancourt graduated, but the 49ers have always presented good tests for the Gamecocks in Aimee DeVos’ 20 years guiding the program.

Fans can park in the Athletics Village Garage for the single game on Friday night. A full recap will be posted at GamecocksOnline.com early next week.