Box Score Game Box (PDF)
Spartanburg, S.C. – USC Upstate and Furman engaged in an epic battle Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Spartan Classic. In the end, it took 10 innings to decide the winner as USC Upstate's Dana Landers' walk-off RBI single gave the Spartans a 4-3 victory over the Paladins in non-conference softball action at Cyrill Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Upstate improved to 14-0 on the year with the win and will hit the road Tuesday for a non-conference doubleheader at Charleston Southern before opening A-Sun play next weekend against Jacksonville. Furman fell to 4-6.
Both Upstate and Furman entered Sunday's tournament finale with 3-0 undefeated records in the Spartan Classic. Both teams had not allowed a run in their three previous tournament games as well. That theme continued early in the game. Upstate starter Anna Miller, who tossed a no-hitter Saturday against Liberty, and Furman starter Lauren Collier kept the teams off the scoreboard through the first five innings.
Upstate got the game's first hit in the third inning on a high chopper in the hole to short. Furman picked up its first hit off Miller in the fifth inning when Collier sent a grounder into the hole between third and shortstop and beat the throw to first. Despite the diving effort by Spartan shortstop Maddison Kieffer, the hit was the first surrendered by Miller in 18 innings.
Furman finally broke the game's scoring drought in the sixth inning when Nikki Legg hit a two-run home run to give the Paladins a 2-0 lead. It was Legg's first career home run, the first runs given up by Miller in 18 innings and the first earned runs allowed in 23 innings by the righty.
Lexi Shubert replaced Miller to start the seventh inning. Miller finished the game with 11 strikeouts, running her string of double digit strikeout outings to three games.
Collier took the circle to begin the bottom of the seventh inning and having to face Upstate's Shellie Robinson, Meredith Barnes and Griffin. Robinson led off the inning and Barnes reached on a single to left to put runners at first and second with no outs. The runners moved to second and third on Griffin's ground out. Collier got Kieffer to ground out to third for the second out of the inning. Kendall Settlemyre delivered for Upstate, slapping a single to left on a full count to score both runners to tie the game at 2-2 and send the contest into extra innings.
With international tiebreaker rules in play and a runner starting the inning at second, Furman's Taylor Jenkins advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a bunt single by Natalie Clemmons to open a 3-2 Paladin lead in the eighth inning. With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Hayley Reinfeld cranked a double to left center to score Erin Schattle from second and tie the game at 3-3.
Furman loaded the bases with an infield single and a bloop single to right to begin the ninth inning. Shubert struck out the next batter and got Stephanie Spain to line out to shallow center for the second out of the inning. The freshman struck out the next batter to get the Spartans out of the threat and head to the bottom of the ninth still tied at 3-3.
Kieffer began the ninth inning by lifting a high fly ball to left field that hit the top of the fence and stayed in the park to put runners on second and third with no outs. Parker got a foul out for the first out of the inning. Clemmons came up huge by leaping up and grabbing a liner off the bat of Schattle for the second out of the inning. Collier then got a ground out to third to end the inning and sending the game to the 10th.
After Shubert retired the side in order in the top of the 10th, Upstate came to bat facing the third Furman pitcher of the day, Alexandra Sappington. Landers slapped a single up the middle to score Llanos from second for the game's winning run, lifting the Spartans to a 4-3 victory.
Shubert tossed four innings of relief, allowing one unearned run and just three hits with four strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 6-0 on the year. Sappington took the loss, allowing the unearned run in the 10th to fall to 0-1.
Miller was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after tossing a no-hitter Saturday against Liberty and tossing a gem before exciting after the sixth Sunday. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Shellie Robinson, Kendall Settlemyre and Lexi Shubert.
All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player: Anna Miller, Upstate
All-Tournament:
Upstate –Anna Miller, Shellie Robinson, Kendall Settlemyre, Lexi Shubert
Furman – Lauren Collier, Nikki Legg, Shelby Parker
Western Carolina – Brooke Coggins, Karley Harkey
Liberty – Katie Zavodny
Winthrop – McKenzie Corn.
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 4, Liberty 2
Game 9 - Western Carolina 4, Winthrop 1
Game 10 - Upstate 4, Furman 3
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