Carolina Softball Set To Open 2021 Season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —- No. 19 South Carolina softball is set to open the 2021 season with three games in the Dolphin Invitational in Jacksonville this weekend. Carolina is set for three games in two days, starting with a 1:00 p.m. ET first pitch against Auburn on Friday at Jacksonville.
 
The Gamecocks close out the first day of action at 3:30 p.m. against the Dolphins before continuing the weekend against the Tigers on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at North Florida.
 
There will not be a live stream available for any of the three games. Live stat links for all three games can be found in the “media central” link above.
 
Both days of action are closed to the general public with admission given to team pass lists and a limited number of students from each school.
 
The two games against Auburn will not count toward Southeastern Conference standings.
 
Friday’s game against the Tigers will be notable for a trio of reasons. It will be the longest stretch of days between Carolina softball games since the program was started 45 years ago, it’s set to be the first time in program history the Gamecocks opened a season against a fellow SEC foe and will be the first recorded game in school history to be played in the city of Jacksonville.
 
QUOTES 
 
“I’m thrilled to open up the 2021 season,” head coach Beverly Smith said on the excitement surrounding the opener. “Certainly, after the 2020 season ended abruptly, we’ve been back at it at practice and I’m thrilled for our graduates to be able to come back and finish what they started four years ago.”
 
“I want to see what the Gamecocks are all about,” Smith said on what she hopes to see this weekend. “I love what I see at practice. We’ve got a deep roster. I think we’ve got an exciting office. We’ve added a lot of speed and have power. I think we’ll have a lot of option offensively and I love the depth that we have in the circle with seven arms. I think that will be a lot of fun for us.”
 
“Absolutely,” Smith said on if fans should expect to see some of the 10 freshmen in the lineup this weekend. “And I think you can expect to see them all year long. It’s a talented group of freshmen we’ve recruited to ultimately replace these graduates and that’s been the fun part of watching us practice. I think our fans will enjoy watching the mentorship that’s going to happen with our graduates.”
 
 THIS IS CAROLINA… TRADITION LIVES HERE

• South Carolina softball has made 22 trips to the postseason, a number that started in 1982. The Gamecocks have reached two super regionals and three WCWS. In conference play, Carolina owns two SEC Championships.
• Carolina rolls into the 2021 season with a 45-48 record all-time in those crucial postseason games and a 14-15 mark under Beverly Smith.
• Fans and opponents have become accustomed to seeing the Gamecocks play on Sundays in the postseason. Carolina has reached the regional final four-straight completed years. The Gamecocks are 2-3 in those past five Sunday games.
• A historic trend Carolina will look to change is its record against host schools in regionals. Since 1982, the Gamecocks are just 2-11 against host schools and 0-7 under Smith. On the flip side, South Carolina is 4-2 at home in the postseason under Smith having advanced to just the program’s second super regional in 2018 with two win-or-go-home games against Liberty.

 THE GAMECOCKS

• South Carolina comes into the 2021 season looking to build off a 17-6 shorted season highlighted with wins over Ohio State, Iowa State, No. 8 Michigan and No. 12 Georgia.
• The Gamecocks are set to welcome 10 freshmen to the program (Maddie Gallagher, Carlie Henderson, Kylee Gleason, Zoe Laneaux, Aaliyah White, Skylar Trahan, Leah Powell, Carly Robbins, Riley Blampied and Chooch Carroll.
• Carolina will have nine left-handed batters available in the lineup. It had five in 2020, seven in 2019, eight in 2017 and six in 2016. Of the nine left-handed batters, four (Carlie Henderson, Kylee Gleason, Haley Simpson and Aaliyah White) are listed as slap hitters.
• 13 Georgia natives help make up the Gamecock roster. It’s the most from any single state for the 2021 season. For comparison, Georgia has 14 on its 2021 roster while Georgia Tech has 17.

 THIS NEW CLASS… IT’S A 10/10

• South Carolina will have 10 newcomers on the 2021 roster. The group (Maddie Gallagher, Carlie Henderson, Kylee Gleason, Zoe Laneaux, Aaliyah White, Skylar Trahan, Leah Powell, Carly Robbins, Riley Blampied and Chooch Carroll) bring a mix of power and speed to the plate and plenty of versatility defensively.
• Two newcomers (Gallagher and Blampied) bring national team experience with them after playing on the gold winning U-17 squad this past summer.
• The freshmen class is comprised of five infielders, two outfielders, two pitchers and one catcher.
• Majors in the group include pre-business (Gallagher), retailing (Henderson, Laneaux, Trahan, Powell, Blampied and Carroll), exercise science (Gleason), cardiovascular technology (White) and biological science (Robbins).

 GUESS WHO IS BACK… BACK AGAIN. 

• They aren’t slim shady… but the four 2020 Carolina seniors are back to finish what they started in 2021. Cayla Drotar, Lauren Stewart, Kenzi Maguire and Mackenzie Boesel all announced over the summer they’d be returning.
• With their return, nine of the top-10 individual batting averages from the 2020 season will return for this upcoming year. The returning pitching staff of Bailey Betenbaugh, Drotar, Kelsey Oh and Rachel Vaughan bring back 12 of Carolina’s 17 wins in 2020 (71 percent) and its lone SEC winner in the circle last year (Ochs).
• As a team, Carolina brings back 85 percent of its 2020 runs scored, 86 percent of its hits, 83 percent of its doubles, 85 percent of its home runs and 87 percent of its RBI.
• Boesel returns looking to secure her spot as one of the all-time greats at Carolina. She comes into her final season as one of just five Gamecocks ever to be in the top-10 for 10 or more career offensive records and is on pace to break many of them. Off the field, she’s also a three-time Academic All-American.

THAT’S… INTERESTING 

• South Carolina will have at least one student-athlete on from the state of California for the 26th-consecutive year dating back to 1994 in 2021. With a signing class that includes two more (Marissa Gonzalez and Emma Sellers), the streak could continue on for three decades.
• Kenzi Maguire’s 2021 season will be her sixth season in Columbia, meaning she’s been here for more than half of the Beverly Smith era (11 years).
• Carlie Henderson won’t be the first in her family to achieve at a high level in sports. Her grandpa, Billy Shaw, played football at Georgia Tech and went on to play offensive line for nine years with the Buffalo Bills before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999. Her father, Chip, played baseball at Shorter University and has been the baseball head coach at Calhoun High School for 26 years. He’s won more than 600 games with three state titles (and had eight players drafted into MLB).
• Maddie Gallagher has actually played for one of her teammates. Maguire was her assistant coach this past year on Gallagher’s travel ball team. The team was coached by Maguire’s dad, Kevin, and was based out of Tampa, Fla., even though Gallagher lived in Port Washington, N.Y.

 MUST WIN AT HOME! AND THE GAMECOCKS DO

• South Carolina is 181-81 (.665) at home during the Beverly Smith era, which does not include a 4-1 record at home while hosting a regional at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field.
• The Gamecocks have lost more than 10 games at home in a single season just three times in her ten years.
• Carolina has finished .500 or better at home seven of Beverly Smith‘s ten years.
• South Carolina has not lost double digit games at home in seven years and has won 20 or more six of the past seven seasons (2020 included).

 NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS IS NOTHING NEW FOR SC

• South Carolina is 181-47 (.780) over the past seven years in games outside the SEC. Notable wins include Texas, Penn State, Houston, Arizona State, North Carolina, Florida State, California, Virginia Tech, USF, Long Beach State, Hofstra and Liberty. 
• The 181 wins are notable because they account for 64 percent of the Carolina wins during that time (yeah, it’s really tough to win SEC games and of course there are more opportunities to win non-conference games. But still).
• This year Carolina is set for at least 30 more non-conference games.
• Carolina had won 26-straight non-conference games (regular season) before the loss to Texas Tech in the second weekend of the year.

 CAROLINA HOSTS TOURNAMENTS… AND WINS A LOT 

• Carolina is an amazing 28-0 over the past six seasons in the Gamecock Invitational.
• The Gamecock pitching staff has shined in the tournaments. In the 28 games during that span, Carolina pitching staffs have allowed three or more runs eight times. On the flip side, nine games have ended as shutouts for South Carolina.
• Including the Carolina Classic and Black & Garnet Challenge the Gamecocks are 51-2 in their past 53 home tournament games. Carolina’s other home tournament loss during that stretch, before Troy in 2020, came in a 4-1 loss to South Alabama way back in 2015.
• South Carolina went 4-0 in the Gamecock Invitational last season, outscoring teams 40-13.

 For more information on the Gamecocks, continue to check with gamecocksonline.com.
 
FULL WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Friday – Auburn (1:00 p.m. ET) at Jacksonville
Friday – at Jacksonville (3:30 p.m. ET)
 
Saturday – Auburn (1:00 p.m. ET) at North Florida