Game Box (VA Tech) | Game Box (George Mason)
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team turned in a dominating performance to take an 8-1 victory over Virginia Tech and got a 12-strikeout effort from Anna Miller to down George Mason, 3-2, in the Buffalo Wild Wings Spartan Invitational Sunday at Cyrill Stadium.
Upstate improved to 7-0 to start the season and will close out the snow-shortened Buffalo Wild Wings Spartan Invitational Monday at 2:00 p.m. against Ball State (4-1). The 8-1 win over Virginia Tech in the first game of the day for the Spartans gave Upstate three wins over ACC schools this season following a pair of victories last week against Virginia in the Upstate Classic.
"I was really proud of the intensity we came out with in the game against Virginia Tech. We have been in that environment before and we handled it a lot better today than we used to. We have to do a better job of playing with that same intensity after a big win. Our pitching staff did extremely well today. We have three pitchers who I have tremendous amount of confidence in and all three came through for us," commented Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins.
Virginia Tech struck first in the game, getting a solo home run from Kylie McGoldrick in the top of the first. It marked the first time this season that a team has scored a run in the first inning against the Spartans. It would also be the only mark against the Upstate pitchers as starter Hannah Alexander and reliever Lexi Shubert held the Hokies scoreless the rest of the way.
After Hokie starter Kelly Heinz retired the first two Spartans in the bottom of the first, Upstate's Meredith Barnes tied the game with a monster solo home run to left field. It was her third homer of the season. Erin Schattle gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead in the second on a two-run triple to right.
Virginia Tech came back in the third inning, putting runners on second and third with one out. Alexander was pulled from the game and replaced by Shubert. The freshman came through in the clutch, getting a pair of groundouts to first to end the inning with the Spartans holding their 3-1 lead.
Virginia Tech put runners on first and second with two outs in the fourth, but Sherbert induced a groundout to short to keep the Spartans ahead, 3-1. Upstate took advantage of two Hokie defensive miscues in the fourth inning to open a 5-1 lead. After an error extended the inning and allowed the Spartans to put runners on second and third with two outs, Aly Schneider single up the middle to drive in a run and Hayley Reinfeld, after moving to third on the single, scored from on a throwing error on the play.
Upstate made it an 8-1 lead in the fifth inning. Maddison Kieffer singled to drive in a run. Kendall Settlemyre grounded out to first and Kieffer got in a brief rundown between second and third which allowed Griffin to score from third. Kieffer later scored on Schattle's RBI single through the right side.
Shubert was simply solid in relief, going 4 2/3 innings with four strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 3-0 on the year. She allowed no runs and no hits in her outing. Kelly Heinz took the loss for Virginia Tech to fall to 2-2 on the year, allowing five runs on seven Spartan hits.
Schattle led Upstate at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a run. Schneider and Robinson also had two hits, while Kieffer was a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run.
In the second game of the day for Upstate, George Mason struck first in the top of the first. After Upstate starter Anna Miller retired the first two batters, the Patriots put a runner on with a walk. Casey Price sent a ball into the gap in right center where the ball popped out of the glove of the Spartan right fielder, allowing the runner to score from first on the error.
Cheyenne Griffin gave Upstate a 2-1 lead in the second inning, belting a two-run home run over the wall in center.
George Mason tied the game in the top of the fifth inning when Upstate's typically strong defense made some uncharacteristic mistakes. Julia Czarnecki led off the inning and laid down a bunt. The throw from third got past Griffin at first. However, Czarnecki wasn't set to advance on the errant throw until the ball went between the legs of the Spartan backup and the ball rolled to the fence. Czarnecki came all the way around to tie the game at 2-2.
Barnes delivered again for Upstate in the bottom of the fifth. She slapped a two-out single to score pinch runner Lindsey Greeson from third to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead. The hit was eventually the game winner. Miller came out in the top of the seventh and sat down the Patriots in order to finish with a complete game victory and improve to 1-0. She struck out a career-high 12 batters and allowed just two hits in the win. Both runs scored against her were unearned.
Buffalo Wild Wings Spartan Invitational
Amended Schedule
Sunday, February 16
Game 1 - Virginia Tech 5, Ball State 4
Game 2 - Ball State 2, George Mason 0
Game 3 - Upstate 8, Virginia Tech 1
Game 4 - Upstate 3, George Mason 2
Game 5 - Appalachian State 4, Presbyterian 1
Monday, February 17
Game 6 – Ball State vs. Upstate, 2:00 pm
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