University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Hartford
Spartans Shut Out Hartford, Winston-Salem State
3/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 13, 2010
Box Score - Hartford
Box Score - Winston-Salem State
Rock Hill, S.C. - Morgan Childers struck out 16 and Upstate turned in a pair of strong all-around performances to sweep the competition with a pair of shutout in the Spartans' first day of the Winthrop/adidas Invitational Saturday at the Winthrop Softball Complex. Upstate claimed a 2-0 win over Hartford behind the dominant pitching of Childers in the first game, while the Spartans 8-run-ruled Winston-Salem State in six innings to win the second game of the day.
Upstate improved to 10-3 on the year and extended its winning streak to seven games. The Spartans will take on Eastern Kentucky Sunday morning at 11:00 and will close out the tournament at 1:00 p.m. against Longwood.
"Rarely do you have all facets of the game work at the same time," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "We had that happen today. We hit, got really good pitching, played well defensively, executed signs...we did everything very well. I am very pleased with our effort and hope it continues tomorrow."
Childers struck out 16 batters in another dominant performance in the circle and freshman Ericka Harris collected her third game-winning hit of the season as Upstate claimed a 2-0 victory over Hartford in the Spartans' first game. The 16 strikeouts for Childers ties her season high, which also represents the highest single-game total in the A-Sun this year.
Childers picked up her eighth victory and third shutout of the season with the win. She has struck out more than 10 batters in each of her eight starts on the year. Against Hartford, she struck out the side in second and fourth innings and recorded two strikeouts in all seven innings.
Upstate missed an opportunity to put a run on the board in the third inning. Crislyn Chewning led off the inning with a single and moved to second on Ericka Harris' sacrifice bunt. She moved to third on a wild pitch, but Hartford pitcher Siera Sheehan retired the next two batters to end the threat.
Childers pitched out of a jam in the fourth inning. Nicole Springer led off the inning with a double, but Childers struck out the next three batters to strand Springer at second and end the threat.
Upstate broke through in the fifth inning with the top half of the lineup stepping up to lead the way. Kim Brasil started things off with a one-out single and moved to second on a stolen base. Harris followed with a two-out double to score Brasil and pinch runner Becca Williams scored on Katie Zauner's RBI single to center to give Upstate a 2-0 lead. It would be all that Childers would need.
Harris finished the game 2-for-2 with a game-winning RBI to lead Upstate at the plate. Zauner also finished with a pair of hits and an RBI for the Spartans. Sheehan took the loss for Hartford.
Upstate used a pair of Winston-Salem State defensive mistakes to jump on top of the Rams in the first inning in the Spartans' second game of the day. Brasil scored from second after a throwing error by the Ram third baseman, and Harris scored from third on a wild pitch to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead. Upstate loaded the bases with two outs, but the Rams got out of it with a ground out to third.
Upstate added to its lead in the second inning. Chewning drove in Brasil with an RBI single to start things off. After putting runners on second and third with two outs, Cheyanna Ohlrich knocked a two-run single up the middle to give Upstate a 5-0 lead.
Chewning collected her second hit of the game in the fourth inning when she connected on a two-run homer with no outs. Her shot clanged off the foul pole for her first homer of the season to give Upstate a 7-0 lead.
Chewning made the defensive play of the day when she tracked down a long fly ball at the warning track in the fifth. She lunged to catch the ball, then fell to the ground, hitting the bottom of the fence to record the out. After a brief timeout and being checked by Upstate athletic trainer Eric English, she stayed in the game. The Spartans ended the game in the sixth inning when Ashley McCurry singled in a run to give Upstate the 8-0 win.
Amber Hamilton tossed four innings of two-hit, scoreless ball to earn the win and improve to 1-1 on the year. Blake Meredith tossed two innings of scoreless relief. Brittany Lane fell to 1-3 on the year in taking the loss for Winston-Salem State.
Chewning finished the game with three hits and two RBI to lead Upstate at the plate in game two. Harris added two hits and two runs, while Brasil added two hits. Brasil extended her team-best hitting streak to nine games, the longest hitting streak for the Spartans since Heidi Gibbs and Courtney Feldon hit in nine straight games in 2008.
