Game Box (Winthrop) | Game Box (Liberty)
Spartanburg, S.C. – USC Upstate pitcher Anna Miller continued to make history and leave her mark on the Spartan softball program, tossing her second consecutive no-hitter and the fourth of her Upstate career to lead Upstate to an 8-0 victory over Liberty. It marked the first time in program history that a Spartan has tossed a no-hitter in back-to-back starts. The Spartans had earlier claimed a 9-0 win over Winthrop on the second day of the Spartan Classic at Cyrill Stadium.
Miller was simply dominant in getting the start and no-hitter just three days after tossing a no-hitter in the second game of the doubleheader sweep at Gardner-Webb on Wednesday. Saturday, she took a perfect game into the sixth inning before an error broke up the perfecto but kept the no-hitter intact. She struck out 12 batters to improve to 3-0 on the year.
The junior college transfer from the College of Siskiyous, Miller has now thrown four no-hitters at Upstate, two this season and two last year, including a perfect game against Jacksonville State in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. She ranks second all-time at Upstate behind the six no-hitters thrown by all-time great Morgan Childers.
"It is great to see Anna in a groove," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "Last year, she was up-and-down at this time of season. She got ahead of just about every batter and has developed into an extremely good pitcher."
\In addition to Miller's no-hitter and a strong outing by starter Lexi Shubert in the first game of the day against Winthrop, Upstate also turned in a standout game offensively. The Spartans cranked out 17 runs on 26 hits over the two games. The Spartans improved to 13-0 on the year and will close out the Spartan Classic Sunday afternoon at 3:00 against Furman.
"To have 26 hits in 11 innings was really impressive," said Hawkins, now just six victories shy of career win No. 700. "We are starting to make adjustments at the plate and that is crucial heading into A-Sun play."
Upstate didn't take long to open a lead against Liberty. Dana Landers led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run. The Spartans loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second and Lindsey Greeson and Landers followed with RBI singles to give Upstate a 3-0 lead and chase Flames starter Alyssa DiMartino from the game. Liberty reliever Annah Jo Brittingham came on and induced a fly out and a double play on a pop out to end the Upstate threat.
Shellie Robinson hit a two-out double down the line in left to give Upstate a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Meredith Barnes stepped to the plate with a runner on and two outs and hit a two-run home run to left to extend the Spartan lead to 6-0. It was her fifth homer of the season.
Upstate plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to open an 8-0 lead on RBI doubles from Robinson and Maddison Kieffer.
Miller struck out the side in the second and struck out two batters in each of the first, third, fifth and sixth innings.
Landers led the Upstate offensive attack with three hits, two RBIs and two runs. Robinson had two hits and two RBIs, while Kieffer and Kendall Settlemyre each collected a pair of hits. Alyssa DiMartino took the loss for Liberty, allowing three runs on six hits in an inning of work to fall to 1-4 on the year.
In the first game, Winthrop made things interesting in the top of the first, putting runners at first and second with one out and second and third with two outs. However, Upstate starter Lexi Shubert got out of the jam by inducing a foul out to first for the third out of the inning.
Upstate jumped on top with a run in the bottom of the inning. The Spartans put runners on first and second with two outs and Kieffer singled up the middle to score Barnes from second with the go-ahead run.
Upstate scored four runs in the bottom of the third to open a commanding lead, 5-0. The Spartans leaded the bases with one out and Settlemyre drove in a run while reaching on an error. Erin Schattle followed with a three-run double before Winthrop got out of the inning without any further damage.
Upstate increased its lead in the fourth inning. After Robinson led off the inning with a triple, Cheyenne Griffin double to score Robinson. Settlemyre drove in a run on a single and Schattle plated a run with her double. Hayley Reinfeld ended the scoring with a single to left to give the Spartans a 9-0 lead and setup the opportunity to end the game early.
Shubert, meanwhile, was simply solid throughout and finished up the shutout to end the game in the fifth. She allowed just three hits and struck out five en route to the victory. She improved to 5-0 on the year with the win. Liberty starter Sarah Allen took the loss and fell to 0-3 after allowing five runs on six hits.
Schattle led the Spartans at the plate with three hits and four RBIs. Kieffer also finished with three hits, while Griffin collected 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 - Western Carolina 8, Liberty 7
Game 5 - Upstate 9, Winthrop 0
Game 6 - Upstate 8, Liberty 0
Game 7 - Furman 3, Winthrop 0
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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