No. 22 Gamecocks Travel to Knights Classic Starting Friday

ORLANDO, Fla. –  For the first time this season, the 22nd ranked South Carolina softball prepares for a true road game, as the Gamecocks travel to the Knights Classic tournament hosted by UCF March 1-3. The Gamecocks will face Kennesaw State, Bethune-Cookman, and Princeton, in addition to the host Knights.

#22 South Carolina Gamecocks 14-2, 0-0 SEC
Coach: Beverly Smith | 14th Season
AVG Leader: .455 | Riley Blampied
RBI Leader: 16 | Riley Blampied and Aniyah Black
Home Run Leader: 4 | Reganne Bennett
ERA Leader: 0.41 | Reganne Bennett
Strikeout Leader: 32 | Sage Mardjetko
Wins Leader: 4 | Alana Vawter

Kennesaw State Owls 4-12, 0-0 A-Sun
When: March 1 | 12:30 p.m.
Series History: South Carolina leads 3-0
Last Meeting: South Carolina 10, Kennesaw 1 (6) | Mar. 6, 2016 | Columbia, S.C.
Coach: Tripp MacKay | 6th Season

UCF Knights 8-6, 0-0 Big 12
When: March 1 | 6 p.m.
Series History: UCF leads 8-4
Last Meeting: South Carolina 10, UCF 1 | May 20, 2023 | Tallahassee, Fla.
Coach: Cindy Ball-Malone | 6th Season

Bethune-Cookman wildcats 1-13, 0-0 SWAC
When: March 2 | 3 p.m.
Series History: Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: South Carolina 10, Bethune-Cookman 0 (5) | May 18, 2019 | Tallahassee, Fla.
Coach: Laura Watten | 17th Season

Princeton Tigers 4-0, 0-0 Ivy League
When: March 3 | 9 a.m.
Series History: South Carolina leads 10-0
Last Meeting: South Carolina 5, Princeton 4 | Mar. 3, 2006 | Chapel Hill, N.C.
Coach: Lisa Van Ackeren | 12th Season

LEADING OFF

• The 2024 season will be the 51st season for the Carolina Softball team.
• Carolina received votes in every poll this week. They are ranked No. 22 by NFCA/USA Today and ESPN/USA Softball, No. 23 by D1softball and No. 24 by Softball America.
• Carolina’s game Wednesday night against the College of Charleston was called in the top of the sixth inning due to weather, as the Gamecocks won 4-0.
• The Gamecocks will face UCF for the eighth time in the last four seasons. The two teams played a three-game series in 2021, twice at UCF for a tournament in 2022, and twice in the NCAA tournament last season.
• Freshman Reganne Bennett is coming off a tremendous week at the plate and in the circle.
  • She threw her first complete game shutout on Friday night in a win over UMass.
  • She became the first player to earn a complete game shutout and hit a home run in the same game since Cayla Drotar against Bethune-Cookman in the NCAA Tournament on May 18, 2019.
  • At the dish, she hit .313 with a pair of home runs and seven RBIs, while leading the team with a .688 slugging percentage.
• The Gamecocks traveled to Puerto Vallarta for the second time in their history.
  • They opened the tournament defeating then-No 13 Utah 9-1 in a six inning run-rule victory.
  • They also defeated UC Davis 6-4 in extra innings and clobbered UC San Diego 18-1 in five innings.
  • Against the Tritons, Carolina scored 11 runs in the fourth inning, nearly batting around twice.
  • Their only loss came to Wichita State who was receiving votes in the most recent coaches poll.
  • Aniyah Black and Sage Mardjetko were named to the All-Tournament Team.
• Kianna Jones began her South Carolina career 4-for-4.
  • She connected on her first career grand slam in the 3rd inning of a 7-1 win over Virginia.
• Carolina made its 23rd NCAA Tournament appearance last season, advancing to the Tallahassee Regional Finals.
• South Carolina made history during the SEC Tournament, becoming the lowest seed to ever reach the finals and becoming the first double-digit seed to play in the championship game.
• Head coach Bev Smith earned her 400th career win last year against UNC.
  • She became the 29th active head coach in Division I to amass 400 career victories while only coaching at one school.
• The roster features 23 total players, with of 10 different states represented and Canada.
• South Carolina has opened the season at home in 8 of 14 seasons under Smith.

VAWTER ON THE NATIONAL STAGE

• Alana Vawter joined the Gamecocks after an outstanding four-year career at Stanford. Her awards list in long, but she also ranks among the nation’s active career leaders in a myriad of pitching categories:
• She ranks first in not only Division I but among all NCAA players in:
  • Game started: 109
  • Innings pitched: 713 1/3
• Ranks second in DI and fourth overall in wins (81)
• Ranks second in DI and fourth overall in shutouts (27)
• Ranks third in DI and fourth overall in complete games (73)
• Ranks fourth in DI and NCAA in appearances with 137
• Ranks 11th in DI and 40th overall in ERA with a 1.76
• Ranks 15th in DI and 28th overall in strikeouts at 555
• Ranks 44th in DI in strikeouts per 7 innings at 5.45

OUCH…THAT HURT!

• Jen Cummings ranks 3rd in DI with 43 career high by pitches.
• She also ranks 5th among all divisions.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS IS NOTHING NEW FOR SC

• South Carolina is 258-67 (.794) over the past nine years in games outside the SEC. Notable wins include Utah, Texas, Penn State, Houston, Arizona State, North Carolina, Florida State, California, Virginia Tech, USF, Long Beach State, Hofstra, Liberty, and UCF.
• Carolina had won 26-straight non-conference games (regular season) before a loss to Texas Tech in the second weekend of the 2020 season.

For the latest on South Carolina Softball, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team’s social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockSoftbll, Facebook /GamecockSoftball, and Instagram @GamecockSoftball.