Box Score Game Box (PDF)
Highland Heights, Ky. – Meredith Barnes went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and collected her 100th career hit to lead the No. 24 USC Upstate softball team to a 19-2 victory over Northern Kentucky in the series finale at Frank Ignatius Grein Field Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Spartans swept the series from the Norse.
Upstate improved to 39-5 overall and 18-2 in the A-Sun with the win. The Spartans will hit the road Tuesday to play a non-conference game at Furman at 6:00 p.m. before returning home for the final home games of the season in a key A-Sun series against Kennesaw State Friday and Saturday. Northern Kentucky fell to 3-35 overall and 1-17 in the league.
"It was a great weekend. We really needed these three conference wins and we came out and got them. We need to get our minds focused on Furman Tuesday and Kennesaw State next weekend," commented Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins.
Upstate pounded out 51 hits and scored 49 runs in the three-game series, posting the most hits and most runs in a series against any A-Sun team since joining the league in 2007-08. The 19 runs scored Sunday were the most scored by the Spartans in their Division I history, topping Saturday's 18-run performance and the 18-run effort last year against Howard. It also stands as the most runs scored since the Spartans scored 30 against Fayetteville State in 2005.
Just as it had done in the first two games of the series, Upstate scored in the first inning to gain control of the game. After a walk and single, Maddison Kieffer delivered with an RBI double to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. A bases loaded walk from Dana Landers and a two-run double by Meredith Barnes gave the Spartans a 4-0 lead.
Ryan Rector followed with a two-run triple to make it a 6-0 game. Aly Schneider's sacrifice fly gave the Spartans a 7-0 advantage as Upstate matched its run production in the first inning of Saturday's series opener.
Barnes delivered again in the second inning, slapping a two-run single up the middle to give Upstate a 9-0 lead. Schneider followed with an RBI single as Upstate claimed a 10-0 lead.
NKU got a run back in the bottom of the second inning to cut the Upstate lead to 10-1. The Norse put runners on the corners with one out after a double and error when Natalie Papi plated a run on a sacrifice fly. The run was unearned against Upstate starter Hannah Alexander.
The Norse made it a 10-2 game in the bottom of the third inning, stringing together back-to-back triples with one out and getting a sacrifice fly.
After going scoreless in the third inning, Upstate plated seven runs in the fourth to open a 17-2 lead. Kendall Settlemyre started things off with a three-run triple, Kieffer and Cheyenne Griffin followed with RBI hits and Landers belted a two-run homer to center to do the damage in the inning. Landers' homer was her sixth of the season and second in two games for the junior.
Upstate added to its lead in the fifth inning when Shellie Robinson drove in a run on an infield single to make it an 18-2 lead. Kaitlyn Jaeger drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to make it a 19-2 lead.
Alexander went three innings and earned the win in the game shortened to five innings due to the run rule. She allowed two runs, one of which was earned, with five strikeouts to improve to 9-1 on the year. Anna Miller came on in relief and tossed the final two innings. She allowed a hit, a walk and struck out five. Her work Sunday came one day after tossing her fifth no-hitter of her career and third of the season. NKU starter Kelley Benhase took the loss and fell to 0-2 on the year.
In addition to Barnes' performance, Robinson also finished the game with three hits while five Spartans tallied two hits. Settlemyre and Landers each drove in three runs.
With the walk to lead off the game, Robinson became the most-walked Spartan in the program's Division I history.
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