Box Score (PDF)
Elon, N.C. - Shellie Robinson had a great opening game at the plate and Lexi Shubert was strong in the circle to lead Upstate to a 9-1 victory over Radford Saturday at Hunt Stadium.
Upstate improved to 19-2 in season openers under head coach Chris Hawkins, a perfect 8-0 during the program's Division I era.
"The first game we played a pretty complete game," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "We had timely hitting and good pitching. The second game, we hit the ball really hard to people at times and didn't get any breaks. You have to give Elon credit. They swung the bat and made the plays they needed to in order to win. Shellie and Cheyenne really played well today in just about every opportunity they had. I am proud of them and the leadership they showed as seniors."
The teams played the first two innings to a scoreless tie with Radford putting a runner on second with one out in the bottom of the first as the main threat through the first two frames. That changed substantially in the third inning when Upstate plated five runs to take control of the game.
Kaitlyn Jaeger started things off with a one-out single. That opened the flood gates as Upstate had seven hits and benefitted from two Radford errors to open its lead. Dana Landers drove in a run on a single up the middle. Shellie Robinson followed with a three-run home run to right center as the Spartans took a 4-0 lead. Pinch runner Tarynn Tirpak later scored when Ryan Rector reached on an error.
Upstate kept it rolling in the fourth inning, scoring a pair of runs to take a 7-0 lead. Robinson started the scoring when she tripled to drive in Landers. Robinson scored an unearned run when Karla Beasley reached on an error.
Radford got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on pinch hitter Brittany Wratchford's solo home run to lead off the inning. Upstate added to its lead with two runs in the top of the sixth on Cheyenne Griffin's two-run double.
Freshman Kinsley Jennings pitched a scoreless sixth inning in relief of Shubert. Shubert was strong, tossing five innings and allowing one run on three hits with eight strikeouts to earn the win and improve to 1-0.
Robinson led the offensive attack for Upstate. She finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle and was 3-for-3 with a walk, four RBIs and three runs. Landers and Griffin each had two hits. Griffin added a pair of RBIs.
