Game Box (PDF)

Spartanburg, S.C. – USC Upstate belted three home runs en route to a 5-0 victory over Western Carolina in the Spartan Classic softball tournament at Cyrill Stadium.

Upstate improved to 11-0 on the season and will play two games Saturday, taking on Winthrop at 1:00 p.m. and Liberty at 3:00 p.m. in the Spartan Classic at Cyrill Stadium. Western Carolina fell to 0-6.

"For the opposing team to have struck us out nine times is not encouraging. But, to have three home runs at critical times makes it tolerable. I would like for our team to have better focus when they come to the plate. With that being said, I am very proud of how our players continue to battle," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins.

Upstate used the long ball early in the game to stake a lead. It didn't take long for the Spartans to settle in and deliver at the plate. With two outs in the first, Meredith Barnes belted a solo home run to left to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. Maddison Kieffer led off the second inning with a solo shot to right to give Upstate a 2-0 lead.

After cruising through the first three innings, Upstate starter Hannah Alexander ran into trouble in the fourth. However, she got a defensive gem from Kieffer for the first out of the inning and got a pop up and ground out to end the threat. Kieffer dove into shallow left field to catch a pop fly for the first out of the inning after Western Carolina had put runners on first and second to open the inning.

Upstate added to its lead in the bottom of the fourth when Kendall Settlemyre smacked a double to right center to drive in Kieffer from second with two outs. The hit gave the Spartans a 3-0 advantage. Shellie Robinson collected Upstate's third home run of the game with a two-run shot to left in the fifth to give the Spartans a 5-0 lead.

Alexander was simply solid throughout her complete game victory. Whenever Western Carolina put runners on, she stranded them on base. The Catamounts left five runners on in the game. Alexander allowed just four hits and struck out three en route to improving to 5-0 on the year.

Kieffer led Upstate at the plate, finishing with two hits, two runs and an RBI. Cheyenne Griffin also had a pair of hits.

Schedule and Results
Friday, February 21
Game 1 – Furman 2, Winthrop 0
Game 2 – Upstate 5, Western Carolina 0
Game 3 - Furman 12, Liberty 0

Saturday, February 22
Game 4 - Liberty vs. Western Carolina, 11:00 am
Game 5 - Winthrop vs. Upstate, 1:00 pm
Game 6 - Liberty vs. Upstate, 3:00 pm
Game 7 - Winthrop vs. Furman, 5:00 pm

Sunday, February 16
Game 8 - Western Carolina vs. Liberty, 11:00 am
Game 9 - Western Carolina vs. Winthrop, 1:00 pm
Game 10 - Furman vs. Upstate, 3:00 pm

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