Latest news with #JoriHeard
Associated Press
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Woolery hits 2-run home in 4-run 7th, UCLA shocks South Carolina 5-4 in super regional
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Jordan Woolery's two-out, two-run home run capped a four-run rally in the seventh inning and UCLA forced a deciding third game in the Columbia Super Regional with a dramatic 5-4 win over South Carolina on Saturday. The eighth-seeded Gamecocks were one out away from their first trip to the Women's College World Series since 1997 when Woolery smacked the first pitch from Sam Gress (14-10) over the leftfield wall for her 23rd home run. Game 3 is on Sunday. Gress stymied the ninth-seeded Bruins (53-11) on two hits through four innings before ace Jori Heard came in with a 3-0 lead. UCLA got a quick run on Sofia Mujica's one-out homer. Pinch hitter Taylor Stephens drew a leadoff walk to start the ninth and No. 9 hitter Kaitlyn Terry tripled to right center to give UCLA hope. Heard got another strikeout before Savannah Pola grounded a single into center to make it 4-2. That's when Gress reentered the game. Taylor Tinsley (15-4) allowed eight hits and two earned runs in a complete game for the Bruins. She didn't allow the Gamecocks an extra base hit. Lexi Winters went 3 for 4 and drove in three runs for South Carolina (44-16). She had an RBI single in the first and drove in two runs with a single in the fifth. ___ AP college sports:
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
South Carolina rolls past UCLA 9-2 in opening game of NCAA Softball Super Regionals
COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) – The South Carolina softball team (44-15) opened the Columbia Super Regionals with a 9-2 win over UCLA (52-11) Friday afternoon (May 23) at Carolina Softball Stadium. The Gamecocks scored five runs in the first two innings with seven of their nine runs coming with two outs. Quincee Lilio drew a lead-off walk in the first before the Gamecocks found themselves with two outs. Lexi Winters stepped up and sent her sixth home run over the wall in center to give Carolina the early 2-0 lead. Ella Chancey reached after being hit by a pitch and stole second. Brooke Blankenship doubled down the left field to score Chancey and put the Gamecocks up by three. In the second, Karley Shelton and Lilio were on second and third for Arianna Rodi who drove a single through the gap to score both runners for a 5-0 Gamecock advantage. Jori Heard, the starter for the Gamecocks, kept the Bruins scoreless through three, striking out three in 3 2-3 innings of work. A four-hit top of the fourth for UCLA, however, gave the Bruins two runs to bring the game within three. Sam Gress (14-9) entered the circle in the fourth for Heard, surrendering no runs and four hits for the remainder of the game. Gress' two strikeouts in the fifth was the first time UCLA's Jordan Woolery and Megan Grant had been struck out back-to-back this season. Carolina added a pair insurance runs in the fifth after an Abigail Knight double scored Blankenship and Chancey for a 7-2 Gamecock lead. In the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded, Winters singled to left to score Emily Vinson. Chancey knocked in one more on a sacrifice fly to tie the program record for sac flies for the season. The 26 sacrifice flies ties the record from 1995. The two runs plated in the sixth gave the Gamecocks a 9-2 lead, before Gress shut down UCLA in the seventh to secure the win. Winters led the offense going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Rodi finished with two hits and two RBIs. Blankenship and Shelton also finished with a pair of hits, while Knight drove in a pair of runs. South Carolina had 11 hits on the day. The Gamecocks look to punch their ticket to Oklahoma City for the first time since 1997 with a win over UCLA tomorrow. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. on ESPN. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
South Carolina scored 3 runs in the 6th inning to defeat North Florida 3-0 to reach Sunday's regional final
COLUMBIA, S.C. (USC SID) – The No. 8 seed South Carolina softball team (42-15) used late inning heroics to power a 3-0 win over North Florida (46-14) Saturday (May 17) at Carolina Softball Stadium in the Winner's Bracket game of the NCAA Columbia Regional. The game began a pitcher's duel, with both teams going scoreless through five innings. Sam Gress got the start for the Gamecocks, scattering six hits, three walks and four strikeouts over a scoreless 4 2-3 innings. Jori Heard (17-4) entered the circle in the fourth and pitched a clean game the rest of the way, giving up no hits and no runs. The Carolina offense came alive in the sixth inning. Arianna Rodi drew a one-out walk. Ella Chancey doubled down the right field line, as pinch runner Chloe Lackey rounded third, she was able to score on a throwing error to put the Gamecocks on the board. Chancey's double tied the program record of 95 for the season, matching the record set in 2019. The Ospreys initiated a pitching change after a walk to Brooke Blankenship put runners on the corners. North Florida surrendered another walk to Abigail Knight that loaded the bases for Emma Sellers. Sellers singled through the left side to plate Chancey and Blankenship and give Carolina a 3-0 lead. Heard made quick work of UNF in the seventh, sending them down in order to advance Carolina to the Regional Final. The Gamecocks will look to win the Columbia Regional Sunday and advance to Super Regionals with an opponent to be determined following the final two games on Saturday. The first game Sunday will begin at 1 p.m. at Carolina Softball Stadium. A second, if necessary, game will follow immediately after. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
