CONWAY, S.C. — The Coastal Carolina softball team fell to No. 23 South Carolina, 12–2, on Wednesday evening at St. John Stadium.
The Gamecocks capitalized off a leadoff walk in the top of the first inning when Arianna Rodi laced an RBI double to left-center and was later brought home on back-to-back wild pitches. South Carolina recorded one more run in the frame on a bases-loaded walk to take a 3–0 lead.
It was a pitching duel across the second and third innings, with both teams recording 1-2-3 frames to hold the score at 3–0.
South Carolina pulled away in the top of the fourth courtesy of a two-run double from Quincee Lilio, an RBI single from Karley Shelton, a wild pitch, and an RBI double from Ansley Bennett to extend the lead to 9–0.
McKennah Metzger prevented the shutout in the bottom of the fourth inning when she cracked a solo home run over the center field wall to make the score 9–1.
In the top of the fifth inning, South Carolina added three more runs to make score 12–1.
The Chants added one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Libby Pippin hit a sacrifice fly to left-center field to score Clara Hudgens, but it was not enough to prevent the 12–2 run-rule victory.
Mackenzie Childers dropped to 1–5 in the circle, allowing three runs on two hits over 0.1 innings of work.
The Chants will open Sun Belt Conference play with a three-game series against Appalachian State on March 13–15.
For complete coverage of CCU softball, follow the Chanticleers on social media at @CoastalSoftball (X), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), and Facebook.com/CCUChanticleers, or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at GoCCUSports.com.
