Childers Breaks Single-Season Wins Record In Split
4/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 24, 2008
Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2
Clinton, S.C. - A day after she broke the single-season school strikeouts record, USC Upstate pitcher Morgan Childers broke the single-season wins record, earning her 25th victory with a dominant performance in the 7-0 win in game one of the non-conference doubleheader at Presbyterian Wednesday. Presbyterian, however, answered with a 9-3 win in the second game to earn the split.
Childers was simply dominant in the first game, striking out 10 batters and allowing just two hits to improve to 25-5 on the year. The 25 wins breaks the previous school record of 24 held by Kristy Middagh and set during the 2002 season.
"Morgan continues to demonstrate the ability to battle and pitch well each time she goes out," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "She has been really consistent all year long which has enabled her to get the strikeouts and wins records. There's not really much more you can say because the records speak for themselves.
"As for the games today, we jumped on them early in the first game and they did the same to us in the second. We kept battling throughout that second game, but we just couldn't make up ground."
Upstate stands 32-15 on the year and will wrap up its season, the first in NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Sun Conference, at A-Sun foe Mercer Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. Presbyterian is 15-30 on the year.
Upstate's bats were working early in the first game as the Spartans scored two runs in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth to open a commanding 7-0 lead for Childers. Childers took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but surrendered hits in the sixth and seventh. In striking out 10 batters Thursday, the freshman from Kings Mountain, N.C., has now struck out 10 or more batters 11 times this season.
Upstate got things going in the second when Tiffany Pitcher drove in a pair of runs on a single to center field. The Spartans blew the game open in the third when Lauren Quevedo singled to drive in a pair of runs and later scored when Amber Patterson got into a rundown between first and second. The Spartans ended the scoring in the fourth inning when Kim Brasil walked with the bases loaded and Shay Slater plated a run with a sacrifice fly.
The 7-0 lead was plenty for Childers as she completely shutdown Presbyterian on the day. No runner advanced past second base in any inning. Pitcher and Quevedo each had a pair of hits, two RBIs and a run scored to lead the Spartans at the plate. PC starter Erin Stewart lasted just three innings, giving up all seven runs to fall to 0-5.
While Upstate had Presbyterian's number in the first game, the Blue Hose came out swinging early in the second game. PC scored five runs in the first inning and three in the second to open a commanding 8-0 lead. In the first, Katie Anderson and Paige Cassady each collected two-RBI singles, while Ashley Ford drove in a run with a single as the Blue Hose opened a 5-0 lead. The lead grew to 8-0 in the second when Ford hit a three-run homer.
Upstate battled to get a run back in the third on Feldon's RBI single and cut the lead to 8-2 in the fifth on another RBI single from Feldon. PC made it a 9-2 game in the sixth and Upstate ended the scoring in the seventh when Slater's ground out scored Brasil from third.
Feldon finished the second game 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Upstate at the plate. Brasil also collected three hits in the game, while Amber Patterson added two hits. Amanda Miller, Anderson and Ford each had two hits to lead Presbyterian at the plate with Ford collecting four RBIs.
PC's Mary Gordon went the distance, allowing three runs on 10 Upstate hits and striking out five to improve to 11-14 on the year. Brittany Rice (6-9) took the loss for Upstate in the complete game effort.
