Columbia, S.C. – Brittany Violette tossed a three-hitter in her first start of the season to lead the College of Charleston to a 5-1 win over North Dakota State in its opening game of the Gamecock Invitational at the Carolina Softball Stadium in Columbia.
The Cougars then held leads of 3-0 and 4-3 before South Carolina rallied for a 5-4 victory on a leadoff home run by Kaylea Snaer in the bottom of the eighth. The split leaves CofC at 7-3 with games against the same two teams on Sunday to conclude the tournament.
Violette turned in the first complete game of the season for the Cougars and did not allow an earned run while striking out seven. The sophomore also came in in relief against the Gamecocks and worked two perfect innings before giving up the Snaer home run. Violette has allowed only 12 hits and three earned runs in 24.2 innings covering a team-leading seven appearances.
The Cougars trailed the Bison 1-0 in the second when Katie Padilla singled, Dana Horgan walked and the duo pulled off a double steal. A single by Taylor DuPree plated Padilla, and Horgan scored on a sacrifice fly by Yari Felix to give CofC a lead it would never relinquish. The win was the first in three all-time meetings with North Dakota State.
The Cougars added a run in the fourth and two in the sixth, with all three tallies aided by three North Dakota State errors. Padilla and Felix both had two hits, and Sara Garcia added a single in her first game of the year.
Violette worked around several jams in picking up her second win of the year. She stranded a runner at third after a leadoff triple in the third and got key outs in the fourth and fifth with a Bison at second and the Cougars clinging to just a one-run lead.
CofC was seeking its second win in 12 meetings against the Gamecocks and took advantage of four walks and a two-run error to score three times in the first. The Cougars still led 3-1 when South Carolina put together three straight two-out hits in the third capped by a two-run double by Kennedy Clark that tied the game.
The Cougars quickly went back in front in the fourth on a double by Horgan and an RBI single by Felix. After Sam Martin worked a 1-2-3 fourth in relief, the Gamecocks reached her for a run on a double steal in the fifth to tie it again before South Carolina finished its rally three innings later.
Izzy Berouty relieved starter Sydney Shipley in the first and allowed four hits and the first two runs of her college career in a three-inning outing. Martin did not allow a hit despite giving up a run before giving way to Violette in the sixth.