Spartanburg, S.C. – In just her second game in an Upstate uniform, Moore, S.C., native Cheyenne Griffin turned in quite a performance. She hit her first career home run and drove in five runs to lead the Spartans to a 9-0 victory over St. Bonaventure in five innings on a cold, blustery Saturday afternoon in the Upstate Classic at Cyrill Stadium.

Upstate improved to 2-0 on the year with the win. The final game of the day, pitting Upstate against Detroit, was canceled due to the harsh cold and windy conditions. In addition, Sunday's game against Ohio has been moved to a 12:30 pm start time, while the second game against St. Bonaventure has been canceled.

"Cheyenne had a tremendous game today and I am really proud of her effort," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "The conditions were very tough, but I was impressed with how our team handled themselves. We stayed focused on the game and did what we were supposed to do. Hannah gave us another very good effort. It was good to get another win early on and look forward to what is going to be a tough game against Ohio Sunday."

Griffin had a tremendous day. She finished 3-for-3 with five RBIs and run to lead Upstate at the plate. The big hit of the game came in the second inning when she belted a three-run homer.

Upstate got on the board with a pair of runs in the first inning when Janna Lewis (Huntersville, N.C.) scored on a throwing error and Griffin drove in a run on a single.

Upstate then broke out with five runs in the second inning. In addition to Griffin's three-run homer, Ericka Harris (Piedmont, S.C.) and Ashley Butler (Laurens, S.C.) scored on a throwing error as Upstate opened a 7-0 lead.

Upstate ended the game with a pair of runs in the fourth. After Shellie Robinson led off the inning with a double, Griffin drove her in with an RBI-single. Pinch runner Kara Lohr (Lexington, N.C.) later scored on a passed ball to give the Spartans a 9-0 lead.

While the Upstate bats came alive led by Griffin, the Spartans also got another solid effort from Hannah Alexander in the circle. She did not start the game, but came in relief of Lacey Dinney in the first inning. Alexander inherited a bases loaded situation with one out. She pitched out of the jam, getting a strikeout and groundout to end the threat. She tossed five 4 2/3 innings of relief with seven strikeouts and allowed just one hit to earn the win and improve to 2-0 on the year.

Lindsay Stowell and Ashley Snider each had hits for St. Bonaventure. Diana Phalon tossed three innings and gave up seven runs, two earned, on seven hits to take the loss and fall to 1-1 on the year.

Other Games

Ohio 21, St. Bonaventure 4 - Box Score
Ohio scored 19 runs in the last three innings of the game, including 14 in the top of the sixth inning alone, to score a come from behind victory and ran away with a 21-4 victory over St. Bonaventure. Alexis Joseph and Jillian Van Wagnen each had three hits.

Ohio 13, Detroit 5 - Box Score
Ohio opened a 5-1 lead through the first three innings, added a three-spot in the fourth and five runs in the sixth to take a 13-5 victory over Detroit. Five different Bobcats had two hits in the game.