Upstate Set To Host NPF All-Stars, Georgia This Weekend
10/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team will close out its 2012 fall schedule this weekend when it plays host to the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) All-Stars and Georgia at Cyrill Stadium.
Upstate will host the NPF All-Stars Friday night at 6:00 as part of the NPF's Back To School Tour. The tour will make stops in 16 different states with the team playing 22 different schools. The tour is backed by USSSA and Major League Baseball. Tickets for the game are $7 with children three and under getting in free. Tickets can be purchased in the Upstate Athletic Department and at the gate. Now in its third year of the NPF Back to School Tour, the NPF team has only lost twice, with the only losses coming at the hands of the Oklahoma on the Fall 2011 Tour and Michigan this year.
Following the game against the NPF All-Stars, Upstate will play host to Georgia in a doubleheader Saturday afternoon starting at 1:00. Georgia finished last season with a 45-17 record, advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished the year ranked 10th and 11th in both national Top 25 polls.
"This is going to be a very tough, but very rewarding way to end our fall practice season" said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins, who is in his 19th season at the helm of the Upstate program and has 636 career victories. "Some of the world's best players will be playing here Friday night when the NPF comes to town. I think it will be a great experience for our players, as well as terrific opportunity for our area to be exposed to world-class softball. Saturday's games against Georgia will also be a tremendous challenge. They are not only one of the best programs in the SEC, but one of the top teams in the country."
The game against the NPF All-Stars will feature several players who were standouts in college and have gone on to have tremendous success in professional softball and in international competitions. The Spartans will battle a roster full of former college All-Americans and current all-stars in the NPF. The Spartans will face pitchers Kristina Thorson (Akron Racers, California) and Sara Plourde (Carolina Diamonds, UMass). Thorson is the second all-time winningest pitcher in the history of the NPF with 53 victories. She is a former NPF Rookie of the Year and was a Pitcher of the Year and three-time First Team All-Conference selection in the PAC 10. She was also a three-time All-American. Plourde was a two-time All-American, a four-time All-A10 selection and the A10 Pitcher of the Year.
The NPF will have quite a talented crop of position players on its roster for the Oct. 12 game at Upstate as well. Kelly Kretschman (OF, USSA Pride) was a four-time All-American and three-time First Team All-SEC selection at Alabama. She was a member of the U.S. National Team that won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2004 and a Silver Medal in 2008. Another National Team member, Ashley Charters (2B, USSSA Pride) will also be in attendance at Cyrill Stadium. She was a First Team All-PAC 10 selection at Washington and led the Huskies to a national championship.
Joining Kretschman and Charters as position players are:
- GiOnna DiSalvatore (Carolina Diamonds, UCLA, 2-time All-American, 4-time All PAC 10)
- Francesca Enea (USSSA Pride, Florida, 3-time All-American, All-SEC, 7 career records at Florida)
- Amanda Kamekona (Carolina Diamonds, UCLA, 2-time All-American and All-PAC 10)
- Brittany McKinney (Carolina Diamonds, North Carolina, Top 10 all-time in HR at UNC)
- Charlotte Morgan (USSSA Pride, Alabama, two-time SEC Player of the Year
- Aja Paculba (Akron Racers, Florida, 2-time All-American and All-SEC)
- Angeline Quiocho (Carolina Diamonds, BYU, Mountain West Player of the Year, 3-time All-MWC)
- Jenn Salling (USSSA Pride, Washington, Canadian National Team, All-American, 3-time All-PAC 10)
Upstate has had a solid fall season. The Spartans are currently 5-0 in the fall, having claimed a 9-0 victory over Southern Wesleyan, 12-7 win over Presbyterian, 7-2 victory over SMC, 9-0 win over Lander and an 11-1 victory over North Greenville. The Spartans have pounded out 56 hits in five games and committed just two errors.
"Our defense has been sharp for this time of the year," said Hawkins. "The team unity has been tremendous with everyone putting the team first. We have a very strong dugout with everyone involved in the game whether they are on the field or not."
Upstate is coming off of a 39-13 record in 2012. The Spartans received votes in the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls and were regulars in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll throughout the season. Upstate returns a strong nucleus from the 2012 team that claimed the program's first win over a top-25 team with a 3-1 victory over Syracuse (No. 23). Shellie Robinson (DeLand, Fla.) was named the A-Sun Freshman of the Year and was a first-team all-conference selection. She was ranked among the nation's leaders in a variety of categories. Joining Robinson on the all-conference team were first-team selection Cheyenne Griffin (Moore, S.C.) and second team pick Hannah Alexander (Lexington, N.C.). Griffin was the every day starter at first as a freshman and Alexander led the A-Sun in wins as a sophomore last year.
Upstate returns seven starting position players, including senior starting catcher Ericka Harris (Piedmont, S.C.), one starting pitcher (Alexander) and seven key role players from last year's team. Hawkins will have to fill the void left by departing senior Janna Lewis from last year's team. The Spartans have also added six newcomers to the 2013 squad: junior college transfers Meredith Barnes (OF, College of Siskiyous) and Anna Miller (P, College of Siskiyous), as well as high school standouts Mellena Helms (INF, Concord, N.C.), Jamie Ujvari (P, Niceville, Fla.), Jessica Ujvari (C, Niceville, Fla.) and Jordan Wilson (C, Belmont, N.C.).
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