Latest news with #AshleyChastainWoodard
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Fighting back tears, Ashley Chastain Woodard 'fell back in love' with South Carolina softball
COLUMBIA — Ashley Chastain Woodard spent three seasons as a player for South Carolina softball with no idea that she'd change the program for the better as a coach a decade later. Chastain Woodard was hired in June to replace Bev Smith after 14 seasons, a move made by athletic director Ray Tanner three months before his retirement. Advertisement As a pitcher for South Carolina from 2009-11, the Gamecocks never made the NCAA tournament. The Gamecocks were picked to finish last in the SEC this season but proved the voters wrong. South Carolina earned the No. 8 national seed and hosted a super regional for the first time in school history. The season ended for the Gamecocks (44-17) on May 25 with a 5-0 loss to UCLA (54-11) in Game 3 of the Columbia Super Regional. UCLA advanced to its 33rd Women's College World Series. "I just love this place so much" Chastain Woodard said while fighting back tears. "In the process of building the team, the wins and the loses, I fell back in love with this place. I'm just really excited for the future and I think the respect that we earned on a national level in softball is a big deal." Advertisement South Carolina won the super regional opener 9-2 on May 23 and the Gamecocks were one win away from their first WCWS appearance since 1997. Despite a 4-1 lead in the seventh against the Bruins, South Carolina fell 5-4 on a two-run walk-off home run to force a deciding game. Chastain Woodard said she believed the players flushed away the emotional aspect of the Game 2 loss, but just didn't have the offensive production in Game 3. As a coach, it's a balancing act between reflecting on all she did this year (which included setting a program record for the most wins for a first-year coach) but also recognizing how close South Carolina was to the WCWS. Advertisement "It's hard," Chastain Woodard said. "I think the game is so much bigger, our purpose this year was so much bigger. Everything we did, the success that we had, it will stick with me for a long time that we came short, I will hold onto that for a while but I really want to evaluate the year and see at the end of the day, what are the things that kept us out of Oklahoma ... you have to move on in some ways, but you also have to learn from the full year, I have so much gratitude and pride for the success that we did have." Infielder Arianna Rodi set the single-season program record for home runs (17) and walks (49) and as the Gamecocks broke the single-season record for RBIs (342), runs (363), walks (256), doubles (98) and tied the record for sacrifice flies (26). Chastain Woodard will lose ample talent, including star pitcher Sam Gress, five of her starting nine in the batting order, the left side of her infield along with two outfielders so recruiting and filling gaps with transfers will be top of the agenda this offseason. Junior catcher Lexi Winters said the season set the expectations for the program, transformed the way that people look at South Carolina and all the Gamecocks can do is build off of it. Advertisement "The ability to do what she did in a conference that is respected," said UCLA coach Inouye-Perez, now in her 19th season. "The way they play ball, they did a great job preparing, executing so top down, it starts with a head coach ... your first year is always a challenge so to be able to get to this point so quickly says nothing but great things about what this program can do." FRIDAY: South Carolina softball vs UCLA score: Gamecocks take Game 1, need one win to make WCWS Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@ and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Ashley Chastain Woodard reflects on South Carolina softball's success
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
South Carolina earns 8th national seed for NCAA Softball Tournament that begins on Friday
COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) – The South Carolina softball team was selected as the No. 8 seed for the NCAA Tournament Sunday night (May 11) and will host the Columbia Regional May 16-18 at Carolina Softball Stadium. The Gamecocks earned an at-large bid and their first national top-8 seed in modern program history. Carolina will host Virginia, North Florida, and Elon. The Gamecocks take on Elon Friday in the opening round at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN+ while Virginia takes on North Florida at 3 p.m. Carolina earns its 25th all-time bid to the NCAA tournament and its first under head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard. The Gamecocks enter after advancing to the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Gamecocks and Pheonix last met in 2021, with the Gamecocks coming out on top 14-1 and lead the all-time series 3-1. Carolina is 7-1 all-time against North Florida and 34-5 all-time against Virginia, including a pair of victories to open the 2025 season. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Super 16 college softball rankings: South Carolina makes believers with perfect start
South Carolina softball adopted a social-media hashtag this season. #MakeThemBelieve. The Gamecocks are doing just that. This weekend, they swept a three-game series against Duke, won those games by an average of 4.6 runs and improved to 19-0 this season. Their strong showing earned them a spot in The Oklahoman's Super 16 college softball rankings. South Carolina is one of nine SEC teams in the Super 16, including Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and LSU holding the top four spots in the poll. Of the SEC teams in the rankings, South Carolina might just be the biggest surprise. A year ago, the Gamecocks finished 34-26 and won only eight conference games. Longtime head coach Beverly Smith was not retained after the season. Ashley Chastain Woodard was hired from Charlotte and brought six of her players with her to South Carolina. Chastain Woodard's biggest get from the portal, however, has been Oklahoma transfer Quincee Lilio. She is hitting .569, the third-highest batting average in the country, and powering an offense that is scoring 8.8 runs a game, sixth best nationally. South Carolina opens SEC play this weekend with a three-game series at Oklahoma. Here's a look at this week's Super 16: More: How Jordy Bahl, Ruby Meylan helped grow, showcase softball in home state of Nebraska Team (first-place votes) Points, Record through Sunday, Last week's ranking 1. Texas (7) 141, 20-1, 1 2. Oklahoma (2) 129, 19-0, 2 3. Florida 124, 23-1, 3 4. LSU 116, 18-1, 5 5. Arizona 111, 21-2, 8 6. UCLA 98, 18-4, 4 7. Texas A&M 93, 20-2, 6 8. Florida State 68, 16-3, 10 9. Tennessee 67, 19-3, 9 10. Oregon 57, 20-1, 13 11. South Carolina 52, 19-0, RV 12. Arkansas 46, 19-1, 11 13. Oklahoma State 45, 14-4, 15 14. Duke 28, 14-6, 7 15. Auburn 19, 19-1, RV 16. Stanford 6, 14-3, RV Receiving votes: Texas Tech 8 (18-6), Georgia 6 (18-2), Nebraska 6 (15-6), Virginia Tech 1 (17-4). More: College softball predictions 2025: Who will win Big 12, SEC and WCWS championships? Voters: Ryan Aber, The Oklahoman; Jenni Carlson, The Oklahoman; Cora Hall, Knoxville (Tenn.) News Sentinel; Eric Lopez, In The Circle; Justin McLeod, Anna Snyder, Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News; Brady Vernon, Softball America; Kirk Walker, UCLA director of softball administration; Scott Wright, The Oklahoman. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Super 16 college softball rankings: South Carolina joins SEC parade
