Spartans Go 5-0 in Furman Fall Tournament
9/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sept. 23, 2007
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate softball team began preparations for the 2008 season by taking part in Furman's Fall Tournament over the weekend and came away from the event with a perfect 5-0 record.
Upstate claimed an 8-0 victory over Southern Wesleyan in the first game of the tournament Friday. Courtney Feldon ended the game in the fifth inning with a three-run walk-off home run to highlight the game. The Spartans stole seven bases in the game and pounded out 11 hits. Shay Slater finished 2-for-2 and Kim Brasil and Amber Patterson each went 2-for-3 at the plate. Brittany Rice and Kayla Short combined to limit the Warriors to three hits.
Saturday saw Upstate play two games, taking on Wingate and Newberry. The Spartans took a 4-1 victory over Wingate in the second game of the tournament, benefitting from a strong performance in the circle by Morgan Childers. Childers went the distance, scattering five hits and allowing one run in the victory. Slater again led the Spartans at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with a stolen base.
Rice and Childers combined to lead Upstate to an 8-1 victory over Newberry in the third game of the tournament. Rice tossed four innings with four strikeouts, while Childers tossed the final inning in relief. The Spartans swiped five bases in the game and had strong performances at the plate by Slater, Gibbs and Feldon with each going 2-for-3. Lauren Quevedo was 1-for-1 with a double.
Upstate faced off against Anderson and Aiken Tech Sunday to finish the tournament. The Spartans took a 5-1 victory over Anderson to start the day. Childers again turned in a dominating performance, going five innings with 12 strikeouts and no hits. Upstate stole five bases in the game and Patterson led the Spartans at the plate going 2-for-3. Gibbs and Katie Adams each went 2-for-4 with a triple for Upstate.
In the tournament finale, Quevedo went 2-for-2 with a home run to lead Upstate to a 9-1 victory over Aiken Tech. Ana Mitchell was 2-for-3 with a home run as Upstate pounded out 11 hits. Short went the distance, scattering three hits and striking out two, to earn the victory.
Overall, Slater led Upstate at the plate, finishing 7-for-11. Childers was the top performer in the circle, striking out 26 batters in 13 innings of work and allowing just five hits. The Spartans hit .370 with 22 stolen bases offensively. Defensively, Upstate had 38 strikeouts in 29 innings and committed just one error in five games.
