Upstate Sweeps A-Sun Softball Weekly Honors
5/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Spartanburg, S.C. - With a spot in the A-Sun Tournament on the line last week, USC Upstate pitcher Morgan Childers and first baseman Lauren Quevedostepped up and delivered and have been named the A-Sun Pitcher and Player of the Week as the Spartans swept the weekly awards for the first time in school history.
Upstate needed standout performances as it battled to secure a spot in this week's A-Sun Tournament. Both Childers, who has been tremendous throughout the season, and Quevedo came through for the Spartans. Childers, a junior from Kings Mountain, N.C., finished the week with two shutouts, including a 1-0 blanking of Campbell in the second game of the crucial doubleheader on Saturday. Quevedo, a junior from Wellington, Fla., cranked a pair of homers at Campbell, the second coming as the only run in the second game shutout of the Camels.
"Anytime you can get a player of the week from the conference, it means that you have played well and had success. To sweep the weekly awards is something special," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "What Morgan did last week was something she has done for us on a consistent basis throughout the year. She is just a tremendous person with a will to win. Lauren has really stepped up her effort at the plate and we are seeing the hard work pay off. I am really excited to see her peak this time of the year."
Childers had a standout week. She finished with a 2-1 record in three appearances, tossing a seven-hit shutout against Appalachian State in a non-conference series last Thursday and tossing a five-hit shutout in the second game at Campbell. She tossed 20 innings on the week and tallied 33 strikeouts and a 0.70 ERA. She began the week by striking out 14 batters en route to her 30th win and 15th shutout of the season in blanking Appalachian State, 3-0. She closed out the week by starting both games of the doubleheader at Campbell. She allowed seven hits and two runs while striking out 13 in the first game of the doubleheader, taking the loss. However, she responded by taking the circle to start the second game and tossed a gem. She struck out six and scattered five hits to earn the victory for her 31st win and 16th shutout of the season.
Childers topped the 400-strikeout plateau and owns 405 on the season. The 405 strikeouts is the second highest single-season total in conference history behind the 437 recorded by Nikki Myers (Florida Atlantic) in 2002. Childers has earned three A-Sun Pitcher of the Week honors this year and seven in her career.
Quevedo had a tremendous week at the plate and found a resurgence in her power game. She finished the week with a .500 batting average, three home runs and a stout 1.400 slugging percentage. She also tallied four runs and four RBI. She began the week by belting a solo home run for the eventual game-winning run in the 3-0 shutout of Appalachian State in the first game of the doubleheader sweep. She finished the second game with a pair of hits, a run and RBI to lead Upstate to a 9-8 victory over the Mountaineers. At Campbell on Saturday, she sliced through a crosswind for a solo home run in the second inning of the first game to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead, but Upstate went on to lose, 2-1. She hit a solo homer in the second inning of game two, but this time the run stood up as Upstate took a 1-0 win to secure its place in the A-Sun Tournament. She now has nine home runs on the year, the most of any player since Upstate moved to Division I in 2008, and topped her season high of seven hit during her freshman year. This marks her second career player of the week selection from the A-Sun.
