So close!! With only one out standing in the way between South Carolina and a shot at the Women's Softball College World Series, the Gamecocks lost in heartbreaking 5-4 walk off. With a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the UCLA Bruins knocked out four runs in their final at-bat, stealing game two of the Columbia Super Regional.
South Carolina (44-16) struck first with a fantastic play by Lexi Winters, who delivered an RBI single in the top of the first inning. Pitching took over from there, with both teams struggling to bring runners home. Then Winters stepped up to bat again in the fifth, and with two outs and the bases loaded, she drilled a two-run single to left, giving the Gamecocks a 3-0 lead.
Jori Heard entered in relief of Alana Gress to start the fifth, giving up a homer to Sofia Mujica, which put the Bruins on the board. South Carolina responded in the sixth but couldn't capitalize further after a costly base-running error ending the inning with the bases loaded.
In the seventh inning, things changed quickly. Heard gave up an RBI triple to Kaitlyn Terry, cutting the lead to 4-2. With two outs and the game hanging in the balance, Gress re-entered the game, only for UCLA's Jordan Woolery to deliver a two-run walk off homerun.
Now, everything is on the line for the Gamecocks on Sunday. South Carolina and UCLA will meet in a winner-takes-all game three in Columbia, with a trip to Oklahoma City on the line. Time and broadcast information is to be announced.