Game 1 Box (PDF) | Game 2 Box (PDF)
Spartanburg, S.C. – Shellie Robinson legged out a triple in her first at-bat of the day to break USC Upstate softball's all-time Division I era hits record and the Spartans went on to take a 14-1 victory over Coppin State and a 3-0 win over Harvard at Cyrill Stadium to finish the Winthrop Adidas Tournament undefeated in four games.
Robinson broke the Upstate Division I era school record for hits, surpassing the 207 collected by all-time program great Kim (Brasil) Hames, who played for Upstate from 2008-11 and was an all-conference selection. Robinson already owns the Division I era school records for home runs, RBIs and runs scored and is in the top position in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. She ranks fifth on the all-time hits list (including NCAA Division II and NAIA years) with Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame member Krista (Altom) Gebhard leading the way with 281.
Upstate played host to six games of the Winthrop Adidas Tournament Friday and Saturday after the winter weather that hit the area Wednesday night and Thursday forced some of the games to be relocated from Winthrop (Rock Hill, S.C.) to Spartanburg. Upstate played in four of the six games and improved to 10-2 on the year with the two wins Saturday.
Upstate 14, Coppin State 1
Coppin State jumped on top when Danielle Smith led off the game with a solo home run to right field. It was all that Coppin State would get in the game.
After Robinson led off the bottom of the first with her record-breaking triple, Hayley Reinfeld drove her in with on a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game at 1-1. Dana Landers, Karla Beasley and Paris Prusak followed with RBI hits to give the Spartans a 4-1 lead.
Upstate freshman starter Kinsley Jennings pitched out of a one-out, bases loaded jam in the top of the second to keep the Spartans ahead, 4-1. That margin stayed for less than half an inning until Kendall Settlemyre belted a three-run home run to right center to give the Spartans a 7-1 lead.
Upstate upped its lead to 10-1 with an RBI single from Reinfeld and a two-run single from Beasley in the third inning. The Spartans made it a 14-1 advantage on a pair of two-run homers from Robinson and Griffin in the fourth.
Amanda Storch pitched the final three innings of the game to earn the win and improve to 2-1 on the year. She allowed just one hit and struck out four. Robinson and Griffin each had three hits, three runs and two RBIs to lead Upstate at the plate.
Upstate 3, Harvard 0
Facing former Boiling Springs High School pitcher Taylor Cabe, Upstate jumped on top in the first inning, and Griffin did the damage once again. She hit a two-run shot into a stiff wind in left to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead. It was her second homer of the day and sixth of the season.
Upstate starter Lexi Shubert pitched out of a jam in the third inning. Harvard put runners on second and third with one out. However, Shubert got a ground out to first and line out a line out to center to end the inning and keep the Spartans ahead, 2-0.
Following Griffin's home run, neither team could get anything going offensively and the score remained 2-0 through 5 ½ innings. That changed when Griffin came to bat in the bottom of the sixth. She led off the inning with a solo home run to center to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead. It was her third homer of the day, the second of the game and her team-best 7th of the season.
Shubert went the distance and earned the victory to improve to 6-1 on the year. She scattered six hits and struck out four. Griffin finished the day with five hits, including three home runs, to go along with five RBIs and five runs.
Winthrop Adidas Tournament at Cyrill Stadium
Friday, Feb. 27
Game 1 – Appalachian State 7, Hartford 2
Game 2 – Upstate 7, Appalachian State 2
Game 3 – Upstate 9, Hartford 0
Saturday, Feb. 28
Game 4 – Harvard 8, Coppin State 0
Game 5 – Upstate 14, Coppin State 1
Game 6 – Upstate 3, Harvard 0
