Sept. 13, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Under beautiful blue skies on a Friday afternoon, South Carolina’s softball team embarked on its first team practice in preparation for the 2014 season that begins in February.
Gamecock head coach Beverly Smith had high praise for her team after the first day together. “Today’s first practice went really well. The excitement level was high. We have eight new freshmen and a transfer, nine new faces, but I thought our seniors did a nice job setting the tone. Everybody followed suit from there.”
For the first time in the fall, the Gamecocks worked out in the finished Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field, using the four-lane indoor batting cage and the well-kept field after spending last fall at Dreher High School’s field off Holly St. For returning senior infielder Codee Yeske, it made a huge difference.
“It’s a huge improvement and so nice to show up, go into the locker room, get ready for practice, walk through the mud room and get practice going as opposed to last year. It’s so nice to have a place to call home finally and be able to use it.”
Smith, who is in her fourth season in Columbia, also noted how much smoother practice went for everyone. “The new facility is great. We’re so efficient now in terms of being able to set up, pick up and run stations through practice.”
Freshman Victoria Williams noted the quickness of practice as well. “It was really high paced. We got a lot done in the time we had. I like how we were able to do all the defensive work as well as hit off Coach Bev on our first day of practice.”
Another freshman, Taylor Williams, said, “Playing in this new facility only makes us push harder, to work harder and want to get better.”
The team worked in the cage before hitting the field for live batting practice that also gave players a chance to field and get base-running work. The team had some good strikes against Smith on day one, with a number of players hitting homers, including both of the freshmen Williams and sophomore Jordan Bizzell. One blast came on the last swing of practice from junior centerfielder Kristen Struett. A lot of balls shot off the bats, some going right to fielders but many others finding the gaps. Yeske and fellow senior Ashlyn Masters also had good live rounds as well as some of the freshmen. Yeske thought they had a good first day as well.
“The freshmen are doing a really great job,” stated Yeske. “We all know that they have a lot of talent, but they also know they have to come out here and prove it. We have a culture of excellence as Coach (Smith) always talks about, and we want to make them understand that we have expectations for everybody when they step on the field with us. They did a really good job of picking up on everything. They are really quick learners and stayed with the pace really well.
South Carolina returns seven starters and 13 letterwinners from last season’s NCAA Tournament team that went 34-25. The Gamecocks returned to the postseason for the first time in six years and for the first time under Smith’s guidance.
The Gamecocks’ fall competition schedule will be released next week at GamecocksOnline.com.
