Historic start: South Carolina softball streaks to 15-0, best in program history
In her first season as head coach, Ashley Chastain Woodard has South Carolina softball dancing its way into the record books.
The No. 24 Gamecocks are off to their best start ever, kicking of the season with a 15-0 record after a 9-4 home win over UNLV on Sunday afternoon.
Afterward, you can hear the celebration from several doors down. And for good reason, as USC had to fight back from an early 4-0 deficit in the first inning to continue its streak.
Teams often try to replicate the recipe from successful games. For the Gamecocks, that comes in the form of dancing after every win. Redshirt junior Quincee Lilio said the team tries to guess what dances the coaches are going to do, and it’s always a surprise.
This time, it was the Bobby Shmurda dance that was popularized in the 2010s. Yeah, kind of random.
But it isn’t just about the postgame moves. The Gamecocks have become masters of overcoming adversity.
In their first two games against Virginia, they clawed back for dramatic walkoff wins after trailing. Then, in a comeback against North Carolina, they scored 11 unanswered runs after falling behind 3‑0. Sunday’s win against UNLV was another chapter in a season defined by resilience and late-game heroics.
Chastain Woodard said after the first walkoff win that she didn’t want comebacks to become a part of the Gamecocks’ identity. Well, it has in some ways.
“Don’t count them out,” Chastain Woodard said. “We have a ton of belief internally, just of who we are and what we can do. You see that from them every time they get in the box or every time they take the field.”
But USC has also dominated most of its games. Before Sunday’s comeback, USC had won its last nine games by run rule — the longest streak in the country at the time.
The previous best season start came in 1996, when the Gamecocks went 12‑0, a team led by pitcher Trinity Johnson who later earned a spot in the Gamecock Hall of Fame. Today, USC stands as one of only five unbeaten teams in the Power 4 conferences, with four of those teams coming from the SEC.
It’s a statement start for a program that underwent a significant overhaul in the offseason, with Chastain Woodard assembling a new-look roster that has already found its rhythm.
“We’ve spent a lot of time together since August,” Chastain Woodard said with a chuckle. “... And there’s nothing like winning to build the confidence.”
That bond is evident on the field. Lilio, an Oklahoma transfer, leads the charge at the plate, batting .581 as the leadoff hitter, while six of USC’s starters are hitting .300 or better. On the mound, junior Jori Heard notched another win to move to 7‑0, and veteran arms like senior Sam Gress have provided a consistent presence.
“The experience and the steady heartbeat and the intensity, but the calmness that they brought into those moments feeds into the whole team,” Chastain Woodard said of Heard and Gress. “The whole team really rallies behind them and feels really confident what they’re going to bring in the circle. ... It’s easy to play behind really consistent veteran arms.”
USC’s historic start positions the Gamecocks as potential contenders heading into SEC play — a challenge that promises tougher tests ahead.
“Every day is a new game, and just because we won yesterday doesn’t mean we’ll win today,” Heard said. “It’s not guaranteed, and always playing our best versions of ourselves is the most important thing.”
But if these early returns are any indication, Chastain Woodard’s first season is already one for the record books.
And they hope the dance party is just getting started.
