COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Abigail Knight had three RBIs and Brooke Blankenship added two RBIs and scored two run on Sunday to help South Carolina beat North Florida 8-0 in five innings to win the Columbia Regional.
No. 8 seed South Carolina (43-15) will host a super regional next weekend against the winner between ninth-seeded UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. The Gamecocks will host a super regional for the first time since the format was implemented in 2005 and advanced beyond the regional for the first time since 2018.
Sam Gress (13-9) gave up three hits over four scoreless innings and Jori Heard pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for her save of the season.
Ella Chancey reached base on a fielding error with two out in the fourth, stole second base and then scored on a single Blankenship, who advanced to second on a throwing error. Knight followed with an RBI single down the line in right that made it 2-0.
Karley Shelton hit a two-out single in the fifth and then scored on a double by Arianna Rodi. Lexi Winters followed with an RBI single and Chancey walked on four consecutive pitches before Blankenship added a run-scoring single and then stole second. Knight hit a two-RBI single down the line in right, advanced to second on the throw home and scored on a single by Emma Sellers to make it 8-0.
Allison Benning (25-7) allowed six runs, four earned, on five hits with three walks across 4 2/3 innings for North Florida (47-15)
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