April 16, 2010

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2

Spartanburg, S.C. - Morgan Childers stuck out 12 and allowed just three hits to lead Upstate to a win in game one, while Kennesaw State scored 10 runs on 11 hits to take game two as the Spartans and Owls split a key A-Sun doubleheader Friday evening at Cyrill Stadium. Upstate claimed the win in game one, 2-1, while Kennesaw took game two, 10-2, in six innings.

Upstate stands 30-11 overall and 7-7 in the A-Sun with the split. The Spartans will play host to Mercer Saturday afternoon at 4:00. Kennesaw is 21-19 overall and 7-5 in the A-Sun. The Owls travel to ETSU Saturday. Upstate and Kennesaw State are now 3-3 since the Spartans made the move to NCAA Division I and the A-Sun in 2008.

"We fought hard and made plays on both sides of the ball to win the first game," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "It was a good game and an exciting to watch. But, we didn't do what we needed to do, collectively, to win the second game. Give credit to Kennesaw State. They put the first game behind them and took it to us in game two. We have to be more consistent in our performances in our conference doubleheaders to be successful."

Childers was dominant in game one and with the exception of one mistake, totally kept Kennesaw State off balance. She struck out two batters in each of the second, third, sixth and seventh innings to limit the few opportunities the Owls in the game. She walked just two batters and pitched out of a jam in the sixth to earn the win and improve to 26-5 on the year. She now has 864 career strikeouts and has moved to within nine of second place all-time in the A-Sun. North Florida's Devyn Findley had seven strikeouts Friday to raise her career total to 856.

After two scoreless innings, Upstate grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third when Crislyn Chewning doubled down the line in left to score Kim Brasil from second. The Spartans opened up a 2-0 lead in the fifth when Brasil cranked a one-out double and scored on Chewning's single.

Kennesaw State got into the scoring column in the sixth when Klair Wells led off the inning with a solo home run. The Owls continued to put pressure on the Spartans and Childers in the inning, but both responded to keep Upstate in the lead. With runners on second and third with one out, Childers struck out Jenna Clossner and got Kelsey Kulk to fly out to center and end the threat.

In the seventh, Childers struck out the leadoff hitter before giving up a single to center. She struck out the next batter before Upstate catcher Erikca Harris ended the game by throwing out pinch runner Lyndsay McCurry trying to steal second.

Chewning finished the game 3-for-3 with two RBI to lead Upstate at the plate. Kennesaw State starter Jessica Cross went the distance, allowing two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts. She fell to 11-7 on the year.

Kennesaw State broke open a close game with four runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings to take control of game two. Upstate jumped on top with a run in the first inning when Harris singled through the left side to score Chewning. It was all the scoring that would occur for the first three innings.

Kennesaw State finally broke through in a big way in the fourth inning. Cross flied out to left field with the bases loaded to score a run on the sacrifice. Brittany Moore followed with a three-run homer to put Kennesaw on top, 4-1. The Owls posted four more runs in the fifth inning when Ashlee Burkett knocked a three-run homer and Moore singled in a run to give Kennesaw State an 8-1 lead.

Kennesaw State put two more runs on the board in the sixth on an RBI single and a bases loaded walk. Upstate got a run back in the bottom of the inning on Harris' solo home run, but the Spartans couldn't get another run and the game ended.

Kennesaw State starter Abbey Meixel went the distance, striking out five and allowing two runs on nine hits to earn the win and improve to 8-8 on the year. Upstate starter Amber Hamilton took the loss to fall to 3-4.

Burkett finished the game with two hits, three RBI and three runs. Moore collected two hits with four RBI, while Wells also had two hits to lead Kennesaw State at the plate. Harris had a pair of hits to lead Upstate offensively. Chewning finished the day with four hits.