USC softball team has tough road in NCAA Tournament
For the fifth consecutive season, coach Beverly Smith’s South Carolina has made the NCAA Softball Tournament and will play Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Tucson (Ariz.) Regional
South Carolina, 32-23 in the regular season, has eight wins over top-25 teams. This senior class, which has won 30-or-more games in each of its four years, is playing in its first NCAA Regional not in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Gamecocks take on the Northeast Conference champs Saint Francis (48-9).
This is South Carolina's 20th NCAA Tournament appearance, the Gamecocks’ second-longest streak for NCAA appearances, one shy of matching the streak from 1999-2004.
All 13 SEC schools that have softball teams made the tournament. Of the 24 games South Carolina played against SEC opponents, 21 were against ranked teams, including 11 games against schools ranked in the top 10 at the time.
The Gamecocks won their final two series of the season, taking two out of three at No. 22 Georgia and at home against No. 18 LSU.
#Gamecocks set for play in the Tucson Regional, taking on St. Francis at 7 p.m. EDT Fri. on @ESPN3. Notes: https://t.co/wlYMUCJbFw pic.twitter.com/sNEU5fsdbg
— Gamecock Softball (@GamecockSoftbll) May 18, 2017
This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 5:04 PM.