Gamecocks Head to Tallahassee Regional to Start NCAA Tournament

May 11, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina continues its softball season in the Tallahassee Regional of the 2014 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament, taking on USF in its first contest on Friday at 4:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN2.

It’s South Carolina’s 17th trip to the NCAA Tournament and the second trip in a row under head coach Beverly Smith, making the 2013 team after a six-year absence. Three times, the Gamecocks have played in the NCAA Women’s College World Series.

South Carolina enters the tournament with a 35-20 record overall, closing the regular season tied for eighth in the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks have a program-record 50 homers and 203 walks, while the Gamecock pitching has a 3.13 ERA on the season, led by the duo of redshirt junior Julie Sarratt and freshman Nickie Blue.

The USF Bulls went 41-15 on the year and 13-5 in the American Athletic Conference, finishing second in the inaugural year of the league. Pitching leads USF, as the squad boasts of a 2.16 ERA while holding foes to a .171 batting average. Offensively, the Bulls have stolen 73 bases on the year and led the American with a .307 batting average.

The only common foe between the teams is Tennessee; with the Bulls losing a one-run game to the Lady Vols, a team that swept the Gamecocks in Knoxville in the third weekend of SEC play.

The host Florida State won the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 50-6 overall record, while the Fordham Rams claimed the Atlantic 10 title with a 36-18 mark.

Ticket information, game times and all other info will be announced later in the week. Check at GamecocksOnline.com for the latest info, or follow the team on Twitter, @GamecockSoftbll.