USC softball coach Joyce Compton looked into her players' eyes, most of which were either misty or wide as tunnels from what they'd just witnessed.
"You've got nothing to feel bad about," she told them as the season-ending loss to top-ranked UCLA began to sink in.
The Gamecocks pulled off one stunning seventh-inning comeback Sunday in the NCAA softball regional finals, but couldn't do it twice.
The Bruins fought off the unranked Gamecocks to prevent what would have been the shock of the NCAA Tournament by winning 1-0 in the second game of the day.
UCLA advances to the College World Series with a sparkling 54-7 record, but they'll carry with them the bruises from this tussle.
It took a running over-the-shoulder catch by left fielder Erin Rahn to end USC's final threat or else the Gamecocks might be making travel arrangements for next week's CWS in Oklahoma City.
"I can't ask any more of this team," said Compton, whose Gamecocks finish 46-20. "They believed they could do it and they took it to the very last out. I'm obviously very proud."
For South Carolina to advance to the CWS, it had to do something no other team had done to UCLA all season: sweep.
The Gamecocks won the first game, 2-1, on a seventh-inning rally for both runs.
But winning two in a row like that was too much to ask, even though USC was mere inches from pulling it off on a day that featured more suspense than 100 pages of Mary Higgins Clark.
The second and deciding game went into the seventh with the Bruins holding a 1-0 lead.
The Gamecocks started with an Amber Curtis single and Adrianna Bagetta's sharply hit grounder went through the legs of UCLA first baseman Tairia Mims, putting runners on first and second.
Bruin pitcher Keira Goerl, untouchable most of the day, then struck out Meghan Cornett for the second out, bringing up Tia Rogers, a freshman from Piedmont. Rogers roped a line drive to left field and Rahn didn't get the best jump. But she retreated quickly, stuck her glove up and barely grabbed the highlighter-colored softball.
"I know Erin is quick and I've got a lot of confidence in the defense," said Goerl, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional for her three victories.
UCLA advances to the CWS for the fourth straight year; it has been the runner-up the past two seasons and won the title in 1999. The Gamecocks, who broke the Bruins' 15-game winning streak in regional play that dates back to 1997, were seeking their third trip to the CWS under Compton.
"I was impressed with the way South Carolina battled," UCLA coach Sue Enquist said. "We had to earn every bit of it."
The Gamecocks' whirlwind weekend included a stay-alive win over Georgia that lasted until almost midnight Saturday. They reconvened 10 hours later at Beckham Field to prepare for the first game, which started at noon Sunday.
Then in the fourth inning of the first game, USC's heart and soul, pitcher Megan Matthews, was hit on her left wrist with a line drive off Mims' bat. She left the field for X-rays, which were negative, then returned and was ready if needed, Compton said.
Turns out she wasn't needed because freshman pitcher Aleca Johnson was so effective. The first batter Johnson faced was Stacey Nuveman, the NCAA's career home-run leader.
"I was nervous," Johnson said. "But I figured if she's going to hit it out, make sure it's a good pitch."
Hit it out? Nuveman never got the bat on the ball and struck out looking. Johnson was solid through the first victory and held the Bruins in check in the second game to give her team a chance to win it at the end.
"I think that was God's way of saying that I'd had enough and it was Aleca's time to shine and she shined in a big way," said Matthews, who was pitching for the fourth straight day. "I get chills when I think of how proud I am of this team. I'm tremendously sad that it's over because softball has been my life. But the way we went out was awesome. We went out with so much heart and determination and we were that close to going to the World Series."
So there was Compton after the game, facing her red-eyed players one last time.
Baggetta, who was rounding second when UCLA's Rahn reeled in the last out, doubled over as if she'd been punched in the midsection as her coach spoke.
Compton issued her list of reasons to be proud and after most everyone left the field, Matthews and Baggetta locked in a hug for the final time in their USC uniforms.
The Gamecocks' only two seniors "meant more to this program that I could ever say," Compton said.
"You have to feel good about the way we're leaving this season. Obviously, I'd like to be going to Oklahoma City, but you have to feel good about the future. We were going toe to toe with the best in the country and that speaks volumes.
"We were so close."
