Game One Box (PDF) | Game Two Box (PDF)
Wilmington, N.C. – Cheyenne Griffin picked up a couple of game-winning hits, including a two-run home run in the top of the seventh in the second game, to lead the USC Upstate softball team to a doubleheader sweep of UNC Wilmington at Boseman Field Saturday afternoon.
Griffin (Moore, S.C.) singled to drive in the eventual game-winning run in the top of the third in the first game, then hit the two-run bomb to give the Spartans a 4-3 win in the second.
Upstate improved to 21-2 overall with the sweep Saturday. The Spartans will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to take on 3rd-ranked Florida Wednesday before traveling to Jacksonville to take on the Dolphins in a three-game A-Sun series next Friday and Saturday. UNC Wilmington fell to 10-14 on the year with the losses.
"I feel good about Anna (Miller) and Sam (Poarch) in the first game," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "They haven't gotten to pitch much recently and it was an opportunity to see what they had. I thought both of them did really well. We played our normal get after it kind of game in the second game. Their pitching got to us and got us down. But, we rallied at the end and did what we had to do to get the win. That is what good teams do and I am really proud of them."
Anna Miller (Portland, Ore.) and Sam Poarch (Jacksonville, Fla.) combined to pitch a shutout in the first game of the doubleheader. Miller tossed five scoreless innings, scattering two hits to pick up the win and improve to 3-0 on the year. Poarch pitched the last two innings, striking out two and allowing no hits.
After two scoreless innings, Upstate broke on the scoreboard in the top of the third inning. Shellie Robinson (DeLand, Fla.) reached first on a fielder's choice. She stole second with two outs and advanced to third on the play on a throwing error. She scored on Griffin's (Moore, S.C.) RBI single. Later in the inning, Jessica Ujvari (Niceville, Fla.) singled up the middle to drive in a run as Upstate opened a 2-0 lead.
Mellena Helms (Concord, N.C.) started at shortstop in place of Maddison Kieffer (Middleburg, Fla.), who was getting over the effects from a stomach virus. After making a couple of solid defensive plays, Helms came up big in the fourth inning, belting a two-run homer to left center to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead. It was her first homer of the season.
"Maddie (Kieffer) is a big part of our team and what we do. To know that when she was not out there that we would get everything perfect out of Mellena was great," said Hawkins. "She made all the plays, hit the ball hard and had a home run. She was a good base runner. She did everything right and I am happy for her."
With the game in hand, Ujvari punctuated the victory with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh to give Upstate a 6-0 lead. It was her third home run and 23rd RBI of the season.
Ujvari topped the Spartans with two hits and three RBIs, while Dana Landers (Simpsonville, S.C.) and Erin Schattle (Goose Creek, S.C.) also had a pair of hits. UNCW starter Darian Roberts tossed four innings and took the loss to fall to 6-6 on the year after allowing four runs on five hits.
In the second game, Upstate starter Hannah Alexander (Lexington, N.C.) and UNC Wilmington starter Kayla Pine engaged in a pitcher's duel through four innings as neither team could cross the plate.
Upstate's Jamie Ujvari (Niceville, Fla.) came in to start the bottom of the fifth for Upstate and allowed three-run home run to Morgan McCann as the Seahawks took a 3-0 lead.
Down 3-0, Upstate began its rally in the sixth inning. After Landers and Lindsay Kelly (Jacksonville, Fla.) reached on singles with two outs, Kendall Settlemyre (Hickory, N.C.) came through with a two-run single to cut the UNCW lead to 3-2.
After Ujvari held UNCW scoreless in the bottom of the sixth, Upstate completed the comeback. Meredith Barnes (Salem, Ore.) led off the inning by being hit-by-a-pitch. After a sacrifice fly and a ground out, Upstate was down to its last out with Griffin at the plate. The sophomore delivered and cranked a two-run homer to left field to give the Spartans a 4-3 lead.
Alexander came back in to start the bottom of the seventh in the circle for Upstate and after allowing a leadoff walk, got the next three batters out to earn the save and the win for Upstate. Ujvari took the win in relief, improving to 9-0. Alexander earned her first save of the season.
UNCW reliever Jordyn Schmidt took the loss for UNCW and fell to 4-5 on the year.
Landers led Upstate at the plate in game two, finishing with three hits. Settlemyre and Helms each had a pair of hits.
