COLUMBIA — South Carolina softball advanced to a super regional for the third time in program history and first time since 2018. The Gamecocks (43-15) are the No. 8 national seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host UCLA at Carolina Softball Stadium. They took the Columbia Regional with an 8-0 run-rule win in five innings against North Florida on May 18. UCLA (52-10) are the No. 9 national seed and run-ruled UC Santa Barbara 12-1 in five innings to win the Los Angeles Regional. UCLA has 32 Women's College World Series appearances and has 12 national championships, the most of any Division I softball team. The Bruins last won the WCWS in 2019. For South Carolina, this will be the first time the program has hosted a super regional since the format was implemented in 2005. It's also the first time coach Ashley Chastain Woodard is bringing the Gamecocks to the super regionals; she was hired in June 2024 by her alma mater to replace Beverly Smith, the program's coach for 14 years.
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