Game One Box | Game Two Box
Spartanburg, S.C. – Shellie Robinson had a monster day at the plate, finishing with three home runs and six RBIs to lead the USC Upstate softball team to a sweep of Jacksonville in the A-Sun opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Cyrill Stadium. The Spartans won 5-3 in the first game and 8-1 in the second.
Upstate improved to 18-0 overall and 2-0 in the A-Sun with the sweep. Jacksonville fell to 8-7 overall and 0-2 in the A-Sun. The teams will finish their three-game A-Sun series Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Cyrill Stadium.
"I feel very fortunate to win two games against a very good team. We have been doing everything we need in order to win games. Our pitching has been huge for us. We are getting good hits at the right time and we are looking forward to finishing the series tomorrow," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins, who now has 699 career wins.
Freshman Lexi Shubert got the start in the circle for game one, getting a quick introduction into A-Sun play. She and her Jacksonville counterpart, Victoria Brown, we solid early on in the game. However, Jacksonville broke through in the third inning, scoring three runs with two outs to open a 3-0 lead.
With a runner on first and two outs, Codi Kelly was hit by a pitch. Karson Tuck followed with an RBI single up the middle with the runners advancing to second and third on the throw home. Emily Sanchez then hit a double down the line in left to score both runners.
Upstate used a pair of home runs to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. Robinson got the Spartans on the board in the bottom of the fourth. She knocked a home run to right center with one out to get the Spartans within 3-1. With a runner on and two outs, Maddison Kieffer belted a two-run homer to right center to tie the game at 3-3.
Brown led off the fifth inning with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Shubert stiffened and got Tuck to send a grounder to second. Spartan second baseman Dana Landers came up firing and gunned down Brown at home. Shubert then got a ground out to third to end the inning.
Upstate broke on top in the bottom of the sixth. The Spartans loaded the bases with one out on singles by Robinson, Cheyenne Griffin and Kieffer. Kendall Settlemyre reached on a fielder's choice grounder to first and Robinson scored on the play to give Upstate a 4-3 lead. Erin Schattle then drew a bases loaded walk to give the Spartans a 5-3 lead.
Jacksonville put runners on first and second with one out in the top of the seventh. However, she got Kelly to line out into an unassisted double play to Landers and second to end the game.
Other than allowing the three runs in the third inning and pitching out of jams in the sixth and seventh, Shubert was solid throughout her complete game effort. She stranded four Dolphins on base, allowed just six hits and struck out 10 en route to improving to 8-0 on the year.
Kieffer led Upstate with two hits and two RBIs, while Robinson and Reinfeld each finished with two hits. Brown took the loss for Jacksonville, allowing five runs on seven hits.
Just as was the case in the first game, the teams held each other scoreless in the first two innings until someone broke on top in the third. However, unlike in the first game, it was Upstate that started the scoring and it did so with back-to-back home runs and solid base running.
Robinson connected on a two-run homer to left and Barnes belted a solo shot to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead. With runners on the corners and two outs, Upstate executed a double steal to score Griffin from third and open a 4-0 advantage.
Robinson continued her monster day, giving Upstate a 7-0 lead in the fourth with a three-run line drive home run over the wall in left center. It was her third homer of the day and the 10th of the season.
Jacksonville's Karson Tuck broke up a masterpiece turned in by Upstate starter Anna Miller with a two-out solo home run to left, cutting Upstate's lead to 7-1 in the sixth. The Spartans got the run back in the bottom of the frame on Landers' RBI double as Upstate took an 8-1 advantage.
Miller, the reigning Louisville Slugger/NFCA co-National Player of the Week and A-Sun Pitcher of the Week, was dominant. The sixth inning solo homer notwithstanding, the senior had command throughout the game. She allowed just three hits and struck out 10 to improve to 5-0 on the year.
Robinson led Upstate at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with five RBIs and two runs. For the day, she was 5-for-6 with six RBIs and three runs.
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