5 Reasons to Get Excited for the Start of Softball Season

After an outstanding season last year which saw South Carolina softball win 49 games, finish third in the SEC, and advance to the NCAA Super Regional, Gamecock fans have plenty of reasons to be excited for 2019. Head Coach Beverly Smith is certainly thrilled to get started, and she offers some of her favorite reasons about why she can’t wait to have her team back on the field.

ROAD TRIP!

The Gamecocks open the 2019 season at the Puerto Vallarta Challenge in Mexico on February 7-10 against top flight competition which will include BYU, Duke, Baylor, Notre Dame and North Carolina.

“The fact that we get to open the season in 84-degree weather is awesome,” Smith said. “The opportunity to take our team to an exceptional tournament where we’re going to face such top-quality opponents is great.

“It’s a great way to open, and I think the cultural experience for the student-athletes will be important as well. We’ll be doing a community service project while we’re out there. It could be anything from going to a school and putting on softball clinic or something like that. The tournament puts it on for all of us to do, and the tournament director said that is the part that the student-athletes really take away from the event each year.  That’s the kind of things you look for the student-athletes, so it’s not just softball all the time.

“That’s what’s great about being at South Carolina. You get to travel and see different places and influence change in other places potentially.”

ARMS AND MORE ARMS

South Carolina returns all three of its pitchers from last year, and they also have two new additions, which gives the Gamecocks the deepest pitching staff they’ve ever had in the Smith-era. Senior Dixie Raley (14-5, 2.09 ERA), junior Cayla Drotar (21-7, 2.25), and sophomore Kelsey Oh (14-5, 1.92) are back and are joined by freshmen Karly Heath and Rachel Vaughan.

“I feel like I’m fortunate in that I have three number ones back on my pitching staff,” Smith said. “They come in and do their job. The freshmen have looked really good as well.”

As softball has evolved with technology and outstanding athletes on offense, gone are the days where you can get by with one pitcher taking all the innings. While each pitcher was likely the star of their staff in high school, Smith said they have all checked their egos at the door and have bought into the “staff” concept in the circle.

“Everybody realizes it’s going to take a full pitching staff to get us through a season and each SEC series,” Smith said. “For example, I think Rachel Vaughan had opportunities to go to a lot of schools and be there number one, and here she understands that she is part of a staff. We’ve been very up front about the number of pitchers we have and how we think it will work. Karly Heath, who was South Carolina’s high school Gatorade Player of the Year, is kind of like (Cayla Drotar) in that she can pitch and she can hit. So, we have a lot of options.

“They know that one can start and one will come in relief in any game, and they all buy in to those roles. They support each other, and I like the camaraderie they have as a group. I feel really good about the depth that we have.”

“There’s a lot of excitement around softball right now, and it was great to see our players get that kind of support and recognition from the fans.”
– Beverly  Smith

HOME SWEET HOME

Playing in one of the finest and fan-friendly facilities in the country, the Gamecocks enjoy the home field advantage at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field where they posted a 29-3 record last season. When you square off against nationally ranked teams in the SEC every week, Smith appreciates the fan support, which set a program record last year with more than 40,000 fans attending home games.

“There’s a lot of excitement around softball right now, and it was great to see our players get that kind of support and recognition from the fans,” Smith said. “There is no doubt that being at home at Beckham Field with our fans made a difference in a lot of games last year, including the NCAA Regional.”

South Carolina’s first home games will be at the Gamecock Invitational February 15-17, and the Gamecocks will host SEC series this year against Kentucky, Ole Miss, Alabama, and Georgia.

I KNOW HER, HER, AND HER

In addition to returning all three of their pitchers from last year, the Gamecocks also return the core of their offensive and defensive lineup, including three quarters of the infield with sophomore third baseman Jana Johns (.256, 6 HR, 39 RBI) and junior middle infielders Kenzi Maguire (.315, 2 HR, 32 RBI) and Mackenzie Boesel (.360, 8 HR, 47 RBI).  The Gamecocks set a school record last year for fielding percentage (.979) and double plays turned (31).

“That trio is back in the infield, and when you go back and look at our success last year, you have to talk about the defense,” Smith said. “It was the highest fielding percentage in the history of the program. They turned a lot of double plays. Johns was on the SEC All-Freshman Team and the All-Defensive Team, which says a lot about how she stood out to other coaches. Offensively, all three of them are going to be a threat as well.”

Maguire and Boesel earned Second Team All-SEC honors last season.  Senior outfielder Kennedy Clark (.279, 5 HR, 27 RBI) as well as sophomore DP Alyssa Kumiyama (.235, 10 HR, 38 RBI), who was tied for second on the team in home runs as a rookie, are also back in 2019.

NEW FACES

In addition to Vaughan and Heath joining the pitching staff, the Gamecocks also welcome three other freshmen and a transfer who are expected to make an impact, as well as a new assistant coach with former Gamecock Kaela Jackson returning to her alma mater.

“Everyone in this freshmen class is very athletic,” Smith said. “Jordan Fabian will have a chance to see a lot of time behind the plate, and she actually graduated (Hanahan) high school a year early. Haley Simpson and Maddie Owens are very athletic and run really well. Maddie has a chance to start at first base, and Simpson adds a lot of speed with her left-handed slap swing. They’ve got a lot of personality, and I think we’ll be able to run well with the speed in this class. Maddie, Jordan, and Karly were three of the top high school players in South Carolina, so it’s great to have those home-grown girls who are proud to wear the South Carolina jersey.”

The Gamecocks also added sophomore Katie Prebble, who transferred from Gardner Webb where she earned Third Team NFCA All-American as well as Big South Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors (.438, 23 HR, 71 RBI).

“She put up some unbelievable numbers, and she will give us some great depth this year,” Smith said. “She is someone that pitchers can’t take lightly when she’s in the box.”

Jackson returns to her alma mater after three successful years as an assistant coach at Michigan State.

“Having Kaela Jackson back is great,” Smith said. “She is a two-time South Carolina graduate, and she has done an outstanding job with the hitters. It’s great to have somebody who bleeds Garnet and Black on the staff.”

Keep with the Gamecocks on social media @Gamecocksoftbll.