USC softball wins three games in West Coast tournament

Behind a dominant pitching performance, South Carolina beat Georgia Tech 3-1 Sunday in the teams’ finale in the Gaucho Classic at UC Santa Barbara.

Gamecock pitching allowed only one hit to the Yellow Jackets (2-9) in the victory. Outside of that, juniors Jessica Elliott and Nickie Blue shut down the opposition, with Elliott picking up her ninth victory in the start, striking out six in five innings. Blue tossed two perfect innings, fanning two, for her fourth save.

South Carolina scored in the first on Krystan White’s sacrifice fly, scoring Alaynie Page after she singled to start the frame. Page came home with the game-winning run two innings later on Kennedy Clark’s single off the Yellow Jackets’ third baseman’s glove.

South Carolina (13-2) was 3-1 overall in the Gaucho Classic, splitting a pair of games against host team UC Santa Barbara and getting a win against Georgia Tech and Southern Utah.

The Gamecocks return home for a 15-game home stand, which opens on Tuesday with a single game against Western Carolina. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.