Softball Opens SEC Tournament Wednesday Night

ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 14/12 ranked South Carolina softball team beings SEC Tournament play Wednesday night when they take on the winner of Alabama and Auburn at 8 p.m. The No. 7 seed Gamecocks earned their seed with a 13-11 conference record, their best finish since 2018.

#14/12 South Carolina Gamecocks 39-14, 13-11 SEC
Coach: Ashley Chastain Woodard | 1st Season
AVG Leader: .375 | Quincee Lilio
RBI Leader: 46 | Arianna Rodi
Home Run Leader: 14 | Arianna Rodi
ERA Leader: 2.71 | Nealy Lamb
Strikeout Leader: 99 | Jori Heard
Wins Leader: 15 | Jori Heard

Series Information – SEC Tournament
Series History: Alabama Leads 49-23
Trend: South Carolina won 2
Last Meeting: South Carolina 7, Alabama 2 | May 3, 2025 | Columbia, S.C.

LEADING OFF

• The 2025 season is the 52nd season for the Carolina Softball team.
• This week in the NCAA RPI the Gamecocks are No. 9.
  • Carolina has the fourth most wins against Top-25 RPI teams in the nation (14)
  • Their 26 games against Top-25 RPI opponents is tied for the second most.
• South Carolina remained in the top-15 of all four polls this week.
  • The Gamecocks are No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Softball and Softball America polls, and No. 14 in the NFCA/USA Today and D1Softball polls.
• Carolina will be the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament, their highest seed since 2018 when they were the three seed.
  • Carolina won the SEC Tournament in the inaugural season (1997) and again in 2000.
  • The Gamecocks have a 28-26 all-time record in the SEC Tournament and have advanced to the finals five times, most recently in 2023.
• With the win over Alabama on Saturday, head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard becomes the winningest first-year head coach in program history with 39 wins.
  • She surpassed Judy Martino (38, 1979).
• With the series win over #19 Alabama, the Gamecocks now have six series wins over top-20 opponents.
  • They also have four series wins over top-15 opponents.
• South Carolina ranks 9th in the country with 15 comeback wins on the season.
• With a walk in game one against Auburn, Arianna Rodi set a new single-season program record with her 43rd walk.
  • Her 14 home runs on the season rank tied for 3rd in program history.
  • She is 10th the nation in walks per game.
  • She had her on-base streak end at 37 games, second most in recorded history.
  • Rodi hit a home run in five straight games (Feb. 25 – Mar. 5), which is tied for the 14th longest streak in NCAA Division I history.
• Brooke Blankenship ranks 3rd in the nation in sacrifice flies.
  • Her eight sac flies are tied for 2nd in a single season in program history.
  • Her 13 career sac flies are second all time in Carolina history.
• Quincee Lilio leads the team with 19 multi-hit games on the season.
  • Lilio is 23rd in the nation in walks per game.
  • Her 42 walks are tied for second all-time in a season.
• Karley Shelton ranks 15th in doubles.
  • Her 17 doubles on the year rank tied for 9th all-time in program history.
  • She has 17 multi-hit games on the season.
• Sam Gress ranks 10th nationally in saves.
• South Carolina has outscored their opponents 324-164 on the season, including 61-17 in the fourth inning and 30-12 in the seventh inning.
• As a team they rank 5th in the nation in fielding percentage.
• They also rank 7th in sacrifice flies, 8th in walks, and 10th in shutouts.
• They rank in the top-30 in four other categories: double plays, double players per game, doubles, doubles per game, on-base percentage, and winning percentage.

GAMECOCKS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

• South Carolina is 185-408-1 (.312) against opponents ranked in the NFCA top 25 since 1995.
• Broken down by site, the Gamecocks are 90-142 (.388) at home, 49-191 (.204) on the road and 47-74-1 (.389) in neutral-site outings.
• In 2025 the Gamecocks are 14-11 against ranked opponents.
• In 2024, the Gamecocks went 9-20 against ranked opponents. They earned victories over #21 Kentucky (twice), #10 Florida, #17 Arkansas, #16 Mississippi State (twice), #11 Clemson, #24 Boston U and #13 Utah.

SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL RECORD

• South Carolina has played 2,689 games in its softball history, going 1,732-950-7 (.645) in its 52 years of history.
• Carolina has posted 30 or more wins in 10 of the past 12 full seasons.
• Carolina has protected home well, also, with 17 or more victories coming in friendly confines each of the past 11 full years.

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.