South-Carolina
Why South Carolina softball, Ashley Chastain Woodard believed a super regional was possible
COLUMBIA — It took a moment to sink in — then suddenly, celebrations erupted as an eighth run meant South Carolina softball advanced to a super regional for the first time since 2018.
First-year coach Ashley Chastain Woodard and the No. 8 seed Gamecocks (43-15) beat North Florida 8-0 in a run-ruled five-inning game on May 18, after beating the Ospreys 3-0 on May 17 and Elon 5-2 on May 16 in the Columbia Regional.
They will host either No. 9 seed UCLA (52-10) in a super regional at Carolina Softball Stadium. The Gamecocks are 34-5 at home.
South Carolina was voted to finish last in the SEC but now the Gamecocks are just two wins away from advancing to the Women’s College World Series, which would be the program’s first since 1997.
Chastain Woodard, who was a pitcher for the Gamecocks from 2009-11, was hired from Charlotte and brought six players with her, including star pitcher Sam Gress, infielder Ella Chancey and home-run leader Arianna Rodi. The 2025 roster is a hodgepodge of Gamecocks who stayed through the coaching change after last season, former 49ers and other transfers.
Sixth-year outfielder Abigail Knight, a transfer from Charlotte, said looking at the roster and the 2025 season, the Gamecocks had two choices.
“Either use this time as a rebuild and use this time to grow or we could go get it right away,” Knight said. “Nobody wanted to waste any time, just tip-toeing into the season, we wanted to go get it. There’s no time like the present.”
Chastain Woodard has set a program record for the most wins for a first-year coach.
“She’s the best that I’ve ever played behind,” Knight said. “What an honor it is to follow her into battle.”
Heading into the regional final, South Carolina had to win just one game against North Florida. The Gamecocks had a game-changing two-out rally in the fifth inning where they scored six runs. In the regional, 12 of the 16 runs scored by South Carolina came with two outs.
After the win on May 17, Chastain Woodard admitted that last summer she told her team a regional appearance was attainable for this group. Now, this next achievement isn’t a surprise either.
“I think anything is possible,” Chastain Woodard said. “I have a ton of belief in the players, in the ones who stayed and the ones who came in. I knew it was definitely possible … a top-8 seed, you look around at the conference, you look around at the game right now and man, that’s really hard to do … it’s special, these are moments and weeks you’ll never forget.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin