No. 23 Gamecocks Fall to No. 19 Tigers

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 23rd ranked South Carolina softball team (28-13) dropped the final game its Palmetto Series Presented by the South Carolina Education Lottery Tuesday night (April 9) to 19th ranked Tigers (28-11) 7-0. Carolina took game one of the series back on March 20 at Clemson.

South Carolina women’s basketball national champions Raven Johnson and Kamilla Cardoso threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

Denver Bryant led the Gamecocks at the dish going 2-for-3 on the night.

Sage Mardjetko (6-6) started for Carolina, allowing two runs on three hits in 1 1-3 innings. Jori Heard came on for 2-3 an inning, allowing one run on one hit. Alana Vawter pitched the final five innings, surrendering four runs, two earned, on five hits.

The Gamecocks put runners on base in each of the first five innings but were unable to come up with a timely hit. In the fourth, Aniyah Black doubled with two outs. In the fifth, Giulia Desiderio drew a leadoff walk after a 15-pitch at-bat. Denver Bryant doubled to put runners on second and third, but the next two batters were retired to end the inning.

The Tigers scored two in the second, one in the third, another in the fourth, before scoring three in the seventh.

South Carolina hosts No. 17 Arkansas for a three-game series April 12-14. Friday and Saturday’s games will both be broadcast on the SEC Network.

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.