South Carolina softball coach Beverly Smith ejected from game at Clemson

CLEMSON — South Carolina softball coach Beverly Smith was ejected from Tuesday night's game vs. Clemson at McWhorter Stadium.

In the bottom of the second inning, Gamecocks pitcher Donnie Gobourne was called for an illegal pitch. She had already been called for the infraction multiple times. By rule, the pitch that was deemed illegal is called a ball, and it erased what would have been a groundout by Clemson designated player Arielle Oda for the first out of the inning.

Smith came out of the dugout, apparently to protest to first-base umpire Phillip Freels. Freels then signaled Smith was ejected from the game.

Clemson went on to win 10-0 in five innings.

PALMETTO SERIES SOFTBALL:No. 5 Clemson softball score vs. South Carolina: Live updates from Palmetto Series

GAMECOCK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL:How Aliyah Boston's parents celebrated South Carolina women's basketball reaching Final Four

Clemson coach John Rittman spoke after the game about the call and Smith's ejection. Because it was a road game for South Carolina, Smith was not made available to media.

"(Gobourne) was leaping a little bit," Rittman said. "Once once you've been warned, you can't argue and I believe that's what happened (to Smith) in that situation. Bev's going to stick up for her team, and a good coach always will."

Oda's at-bat ended with a groundout after all. Gobourne hit the next batter she faced, but induced a flyout and got a strikeout to get the Gamecocks out of the inning unscathed.

Clemson and South Carolina are playing the first of two Palmetto Series games. The Tigers will travel to Columbia to face the Gamecocks on April 11.

Christina Long covers the Clemson Tigers for the Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. You can follow her on Twitter @christinalong00 or email her at clong@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina softball coach Beverly Smith ejected from Clemson game