Gamecocks Out-Hit No. 10 Gators in Loss

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The South Carolina softball team (29-16, 5-11) out-hit 10th ranked Florida (35-9, 11-5) Friday night (April 19) in their SEC series opener but fell to the Gators 11-6.

Aniyah Black led the Gamecocks on the night going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Zoe Laneaux also drove in a pair of runs. In all, nine different Carolina players collected a hit in the game.

The Gators struck first, scoring with two outs in the first. They would add to the lead with four in the second and six in the third. Reganne Bennett and Bailey Betenbaugh combined to shutout the Gators over the final three innings.

Carolina scored in the third with two outs, after a Riley Blampied doubled, and Laneaux brought her home on a single up the middle.

The Gamecocks scored again in the fourth, pushing across three runs. Bre Warren was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Down 0-2 in the count, Black connected on her fourth home run of a season, a blast to left. They would tack on another run thanks to back-to-back singles from Giulia Desiderio and Brooke Blankenship, as Desiderio scored on a fielder’s choice from Blampied.

Carolina scored two more in the sixth after loading the bases. A single from Marissa Gonzalez and a double by Denver Bryant put runners in scoring position. After a fielder’s choice loaded the bases, Laneaux brought home Gonzalez on a sacrifice fly to right. Jen Cummings followed with a sacrifice fly of her own, also to right field, scoring Bryant.

Jori Heard (6-2) took the loss, allowing five runs on four hits in 1 2-3 innings.

Game two of the series is tomorrow at noon 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.