South Carolina softball learns NCAA Tournament destination, regional details
The South Carolina softball team is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
The Gamecocks (37-20) are the No. 2 seed in the Tallahassee Regional. They’ll face off against No. 3 UCF (39-19) in their opener at 7 p.m. Friday (ESPN2).
Florida State, the top seed and host in the regional, opens up against No. 4 Marist (29-28) at 4 p.m. Friday. The Seminoles (50-8) are the tournament’s No. 3 overall seed, have been in the NCAAs for 23 straight years and have hosted a regional nine years in a row.
USC is coming off a Cinderella-type week at the SEC Tournament, where the Gamecocks won three games as the 10th seed and became the lowest seed ever to earn a spot in the conference finals. Tennessee beat South Carolina 3-1 in Saturday’s title game for the SEC crown.
This is the eighth NCAA Tournament appearance for South Carolina under coach Beverly Smith, who is in her 13th season with the Gamecocks.
South Carolina finished the 2023 regular season 35-18 overall and was 9-15 in SEC play — quite the bounce-back from a down 2022 that included a losing overall record and 3-21 mark in the SEC. The Gamecocks were 26-26 overall in 2021, with the 2020 season being canceled during the onset of the COVID pandemic.
USC added former Florida Atlantic pitcher Donnie Gobourne (13-6, 2.15 ERA) via the transfer portal for this season, and she’s led the way in the circle with 189 strikeouts in 120.2 innings pitched.
Jordan Fabian and Riley Blampied are the team leaders in home runs, RBIs and stolen bases.
The Gamecocks watched Sunday’s selection show poolside at the home of USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, a big supporter of Smith and the program.
This story was originally published May 14, 2023 at 7:10 PM.
