Box Score 1 (PDF) | Box Score 2 (PDF)
Johnson City, Tenn. – Lexi Shubert flirted with a perfect game in a complete game win in game one and helped lead a Spartan comeback with a stellar relief appearance in game two as the USC Upstate softball team swept a non-conference doubleheader at ETSU Tuesday evening at Betty Basler Field. Upstate won game one, 5-0, and game two, 4-3, in eight innings.
Upstate improved to 19-4 on the year with the sweep. The Spartans will return to action Saturday and Sunday when they travel to Jacksonville, Fla., to take on Jacksonville in a three-game A-Sun series. ETSU fell to 10-12 on the year with the losses.
Upstate hit four home runs on the day, three in game one and one in game two. It makes five games in a row the Spartans have hit a home run with the Spartans hitting 14 home runs in the last five outings.
Game 1 – Upstate 5, ETSU 0
After two scoreless innings, Upstate got on the board in the third inning and the duo from Miami Dade College started things off as Paris Prusak reached on a throwing error by the ETSU shortstop and Aly Schneider doubled to put runners on second and third. Cheyenne Griffin then lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Prusak and give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. The Spartans made it a 2-0 lead when Dana Landers singled to drive in Schneider.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Shellie Robinson provided Upstate more cushion when she hit a solo home run to right field with one out to give the Spartans a 3-0 advantage. It was her 10th home run of the season to edge in front of Griffin for the team lead.
Robinson didn't have the team lead for long. One out and another batter later, Griffin lifted a solo home run to left for her 10th homer of the season to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead. The homer parade continued in the seventh inning when Paris Prusak sent a solo shot over the wall in left-center to give Upstate a 5-0 lead.
Upstate starter Lexi Shubert was sensational throughout the game and had a strong opportunity for her first career no-hitter and a perfect game going. She was perfect through 4 1/3 innings before Kelsey Smith reached on an infield single in the fifth. Taylor Carter doubled down the line in left in the sixth, but that is all that the Buccaneers would get off of the righty.
Shubert went the distance and improved to 11-3 on the year with the win. She allowed just two hits and struck out eight in a dominant effort in the circle. Carter took the loss for ETSU. She allowed five runs on eight Upstate hits to fall to 5-5 on the season.
Upstate belted three home runs in the game and continued a torrid streak of knocking the ball out of the park. It was the fourth straight game the Spartans hit at least two home runs and the third consecutive with at least three. Upstate increased its season total to 43 heading into the second game, just 17 shy of the single season record of 60 hit last season in 54 games. Hayley Reinfeld led the Spartans at the plate with two hits, while Griffin added two RBIs.
Game 2 – Upstate 4, ETSU 3
It didn't take long for Upstate to get on the board in the second game. With one out, Aly Schneider hit a solo home run to left to give the Spartans an early 1-0 lead. It was the fifth consecutive game with a home run for the Spartans.
ETSU responded in the bottom of the inning when Smith belted a two-run homer to left to give the Buccaneers a 2-1 lead. Bethany Cowart gave ETSU a 3-1 lead in the second on an RBI double. The Buccaneers put runners on second and third with two outs in the third, but Upstate starter Amanda Storch got out of the inning without any further damage and with the score still 3-1.
Shubert entered the game to start the bottom of the fourth in the circle for Upstate. She did her job in quieting the ETSU bats.
ETSU starter Whitney Leon basically held Upstate at bay throughout the game. After allowing the Schneider home run in the first inning, she only allowed the Spartans four hits over the next five innings. That all changed in the top of the seventh.
Prusak entered to pinch hit and doubled to lead off the inning. Kendall Settlemyre followed with a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. After a strikeout, Kaitlyn Jaeger walked to load the bases. Reinfeld walked to bring in a run and cut the Buccaneer lead to 3-2. After a pop up gave the Spartans two outs, Schneider came up big as she did all game long. She walked to bring in the tying run at 3-3.
Shubert shutdown the ETSU bats in the bottom of the seventh and the game went to extra innings using the international tiebreaker rules where a runner is placed on second to start each half inning. Upstate took the lead for the first time since the first inning when Griffin moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Settlemyre's single to give the Spartans a 4-3 lead.
Shubert got a line out and a ground out to start the bottom of the eighth inning. However, Jennine Duncan advanced to third on the grounder to put the tying run on base away. Shubert, though, struck the next batter out for a 1-2-3 inning to end the game and complete the Spartan comeback. She tossed five innings of relief and allowed just two hits with five strikeouts to improve to 12-3 on the year.
Schneider came up huge at the plate for Upstate. She finished 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs to lead the Spartans. Settlemyre had a pair of hits.
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