April 1, 2009

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2

Cullowhee, N.C. - In the first meeting between USC Upstate and Western Carolina, Crislyn Chewning finished with five hits and hit for the cycle in the span of the doubleheader to lead Upstate to a sweep of the Catamounts in non-conference softball action Wednesday evening. The Spartans claimed a 9-2 win in game one and a 3-2 victory in eight innings in game two.

Upstate improved to 19-9 on the year and increased its winning streak to four games. Western Carolina fell to 9-20 on the season.

"I thought we improved our defensive effort today from our last outing at Stetson," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "It was nice to see Crislyn (Chewning) and Kim (Brasil) have good days at the plate. They carried us today and turned in dominant performances."

Chewning finished the day with five hits, five RBIs and two runs. She collected a single, double and triple in that order in the first game, finishing 3-for-3 to lead the Spartans to a 9-2 win. She hit a solo home run to finish off the doubleheader cycle and finished the second game 2-for-4 to help Upstate to a 3-2 win in eight innings.

While Chewning's performance was huge, she was not the only Spartan to stand out on the field. Kim Brasil also finished with five hits on the day. Morgan Childers started both games and earned both victories to improve to 14-6 on the year.

Upstate collected 10 hits and scored nine runs in the game one win. The Spartans jumped on top with a run in the first inning as Brasil scored on Chewning's RBI single. Upstate added a run in the third when Heidi Gibbs scored on a wild pitch.

The Spartans broke the game open in the fourth inning, plating five runs to open a commanding 7-0 lead. Monica Hall drew a walk with one out and Ana Mitchell and Brasil followed with singles to load the bases. Gibbs reached on a fielder's choice, but Hall beat the throw home to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead. Chewning then emptied the bases with a three-run triple.

Childers left the game after pitching four innings, finishing the game with five strikeouts and allowing just one hit to earn the win.

Western got on the board in the fifth inning when Brittany Barrineau scored after Danielle Reese singled to right, but Gibbs misplayed the ball to allow Barrineau to score from second.

Leading 7-1, Uptstate added to the lead with a pair of runs in the seventh. Keri Sarratt led off the inning with a solo home run to left and Amber Patterson scored on Hall's RBI single. Western scored a run in the bottom of the seventh for the final margin.

Amber Hamilton tossed three innings of relief to earn her second save of the season. She allowed just one earned run and scattered five hits.

Childers took to the circle for game two and combined with Western starter Katie King to keep zeros on the board until the fifth inning. In the fifth, Upstate jumped on top on Brasil's RBI single. However, Western answered in the bottom of the inning on Amber Hawkins' solo home run.

Upstate countered in the sixth inning when Chewning knocked a solo home run to lead off the inning, giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead. Upstate and Childers took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh. After recording the leadoff out, Western's Chelsea Schaffer hit a solo home run to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

In the eight, Gibbs started the inning on second using the international tiebreaker procedure. She moved over to third on Sarratt's fielder's choice to put runners on first and third. One batter later, Amber Patterson hammered the first pitch she saw, a changeup, into left field to drive in Gibbs with the game-winning run.

Childers retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth to take secure the win for Upstate. She tossed eight innings, giving up two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. On the day, she tossed 12 innings with 13 strikeouts.

Upstate's two home runs on the day were the first dingers hit in over a month. After starting the season with 11 home runs through 12 games, Upstate had not hit a home run since Patterson went deep against Tulsa on Feb. 28.