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Spartanburg, S.C. - After having Wednesday's game at South Carolina rained out, the USC Upstate softball team returns to action this weekend, hosting a pair of A-Sun doubleheaders against North Florida and Jacksonville. The Spartans will take on UNF Friday at 4:00 p.m. and Jacksonville Saturday at 4:00 p.m. at Cyrill Stadium.
Upstate stands 10-16 all-time against UNF in a series that dates back to the NCAA Division II days when both were members of the Peach Belt Conference. The Spartans are 5-1 against the Ospreys since moving to Division I and the A-Sun for the 2008 season. Upstate is 5-2 all-time against Jacksonville with all seven contests played since 2008.
Upstate enters the weekend with a 30-5 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the A-Sun. UNF is 17-18 overall and 1-3 in the league, while Jacksonville is 24-12 overall and 4-0 in the A-Sun. Fans can follow the action online at the official Upstate Athletics website, www.upstatespartans.com with free live statistical updates for all four games and video for a fee for Saturday's games against Jacksonville on ASun.TV.
Looking Back at Belmont and Lipscomb
USC Upstate opened A-Sun play with a doubleheader sweep of Belmont last Friday, taking 2-1 and 4-1 wins over the Bruins. Morgan Childers went the distance in game one and struck out 11 to improve to 21-2 on the year. Hannah Alexander started game two and earned the win to improve to nine wins on the season. Childers came into the game and earned the save to tie the all-time saves record at Upstate, eight also held by Jenn Whited. Rain postponed the Lipscomb doubleheader from Saturday to Sunday. Despite hitting the Lady Bisons well, the Spartans made seven errors in two games and allowed nine unearned runs in falling by scores of 7-3 and 11-6. Lauren Quevedo finished the weekend with two homers to move into sole possession of second place on Upstate's all-time list.
Upstate Among Nation's Statistical Leaders
Off to a 30-5 start to the season, Upstate has made a mark on the national level. As a team, the Spartans rank in the top 25 in six statistical categories. The Spartans rank fifth with 1.8 doubles per game, 11th with a 1.44 ERA, 13th with an .857 winning percentage, 18th with a .975 fielding percentage, 20th with a .329 batting average and 24th with a .507 slugging percentage.
Individually, the Spartans appear in the top 50 15 times. Morgan Childers leads the nation with 21 wins and 12.4 strikeouts per game. She also ranks second with 250 strikeouts and fourth with eight shutouts. Kim Brasil ranks eighth in the nation with four triples, while Janna Lewis ranks 33rd with a .447 batting average.
Upstate Garners First-Ever Top 25 National Ranking
For the first time in school history playing on the Division I level, the Upstate softball program earned a top 25 national ranking in a major top 25 poll, coming in at No. 25 in the March 22 UltimateCllegeSoftball.com poll.
Chasing History
Morgan Childers is no stranger to chasing down and surpassing records. She has had a brilliant career at Upstate and already owns several career records at the university. She is set to take down the A-Sun wins record, entering the weekend just three victories shy of the all-time mark. She has collected 105 wins in her career, just shy of the all-time mark of 108 set by Nikki Myers (Florida Atlantic) from 1999-2002. She is just the second pitcher in the history of the A-Sun to reach 100 career wins.
Childers Leads Nation in Wins
Morgan Childers owns a 21-3 record on the season and the start is good enough to place the senior as the nation's leader in wins. She has tossed two no-hitters this season in leading Upstate to a 30-5 record entering this weekend.
Upstate Sits Atop A-Sun Rankings
Upstate continues to turn in numbers that keep the Spartans among the A-Sun statistical leaders. Upstate remains the conference leader with a .329 batting average. The Spartans lead the conference in 12 individual categories with Janna Lewis topping the A-Sun with a .447 batting average and Morgan Childers with 21 wins and 250 strikeouts. Overall, the Spartans appear 41 times in the various top 10 lists in the latest report.
Brasil Moves into Top 10 All-Time for Hits
Kim Brasil's name appears in the Top 10 in seven different career statistical categories at Upstate. She recently moved into the Top 10 on Upstate's all-time hits list and is currently sixth with 191 in her career. She is the first player who has played her entire career on the Division I level to reach the Top 10 in the hits category. She also ranks fourth all-time with 47 doubles and seventh with 135 runs.
Quevedo Second on Upstate's All-Time Home Runs List
Lauren Quevedo continues to move up the ladder on the all-time home runs list at Upstate. With two home runs last weekend, she has reached 29 in her career, moving into sole possession of second on the all-time list. She also ranks fifth with 106 RBIs and seventh with a .549 slugging percentage. Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame member Stacey Berrong tops the all-time list with 46 in her two-year career.
Spartans Strong at Home
Since opening Cyrill Stadium in 2002, Upstate has been tough to beat at home. The Spartans were 24-6 in 2010 and set a school record for winning in 2009 with an 18-3 mark for an .857 winning percentage. Upstate is 166-42 (.798) all-time at home since 2002. Upstate entered the doubleheader against Lipscomb (March 27) with a 26-game home winning streak dating back to last season and a 20-0 mark to start the 2011 season. However, the loss to the Lady Bisons in the first game ended the streak.
Childers Second on A-Sun Career Shutouts, Strikeouts Lists
Morgan Childers has moved into second place in A-Sun history with 40 shutouts and 1,213 strikeouts. Florida Atlantic's Nikki Myers owns the all-time marks with 47 shutouts and 1,376. Childers is seven shutouts and 163 strikeouts shy of the all-time records.
Childers Owns 10 Career Records at Upstate
Morgan Childers entered her senior season already the owner of seven career records at Upstate. Midway through the season, she has put three more records under her hat. She tops the all-time list with 105 wins, 1,213 strikeouts, 302 batters struck out looking, 40 shutouts, a .162 opponent batting average, 148 appearances, 115 games started, 95 complete games, eight saves and 834.1 innings pitched.
Three Spartans Among All-Time Defensive Leaders
One of the nation's top defensive clubs last year and off to a strong start this season, three current Spartans currently rank among the all-time great defensive players at Upstate. Sophomore Ericka Harris tops the all-time list with a .994 fielding percentage, playing primarily as the starting catcher while also seeing action at first and third base. Lauren Quevedo ranks seventh all-time with a .985 fielding percentage and fifth all-time with 895 putouts as the starter at first base. Kim Brasil is eighth all-time with a .982 fielding percentage and 10th with 518 putouts. She has played both outfield and catcher in her career at Upstate and is currently the every day starter in left field for the Spartans this season.
Spartans Tally Best Start in Division I Era
Upstate's 25-0 start to the season was not only the best in the A-Sun this year, but the top effort in the school's Division I era, topping the 8-0 start in 2009. The effort was also three games short of the all-time school record of 28-0 in 2000.
Childers Tosses Sixth Career No-Hitter, Second of the Season
In a span of 15 days, Morgan Childers tossed two no-hitters to increase her career total to six. This time, she had to go the distance in the 2-0 win over La Salle on Feb. 27. Childers struck out a season-high 17 batters, one off of her own single-game school record of 18 (vs. Tusculum, 2008), to earn the win over the Explorers. She now has two no-no's this year, matching her season high of two last season. She had one in each of her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Mr. 500
Now in his 17th year at the helm of the program, head coach Chris Hawkins has topped the 500 career-win mark. He currently has 588 career victories and is not only the winningest coach in the history of the softball program, he has more wins than any other coach who has ever coached at Upstate in any sport.
