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Spartanburg, S.C. – Dana Landers entered Sunday's A-Sun softball game against Stetson needing one RBI to reach 100 in her career and join the exclusive 100-100-100 club for career hits, runs and RBIs. She did it three better with a first inning grand slam that set the tone as USC Upstate belted five home runs and claimed a 15-3 victory over the Hatters to earn the series sweep.
Landers became just the ninth Spartan in the history of the program to reach 100 career hits, runs and RBIs. She is the fourth Spartan to join the club this year, joining teammates Shellie Robinson, Cheyenne Griffin and Kendall Settlemyre in the club. In the first 30-plus years of the program there were five players to have reached the milestone club. This year, four players joined the group.
Upstate improved to 34-7 overall and 14-1 in the A-Sun with the win Sunday. The Spartans will travel to face 12th-ranked Georgia Wednesday evening at 6 before returning to Cyrill Stadium to play host to A-Sun rival Lipscomb next Saturday and Sunday. Stetson fell to 22-14 overall and 5-7 in the league with the loss.
In hitting four home runs on the day, Upstate increased its total to 80 on the season, one shy of the 81 hit by the 2009 Campbell team for the most home runs hit in the A-Sun since the Spartans joined the conference for the 2008 season. Initial research has shown Campbell's 81 is also the A-Sun's all-time season record.
Upstate started quickly to once again grab control of the game against the Hatters. After loading the bases with one out, Karla Beasley worked the count to full and drew a walk to plate the game's first run. With the bases still loaded, Landers connected on her grand slam as the Spartans opened their 5-0 early advantage.
Settlemyre continued her week of belting the long ball when she hit a two-run homer to center in the second, giving Upstate a 7-0 lead. It was her fifth home run of the week after hitting three in the doubleheader sweep of Gardner-Webb Thursday and one in Saturday's sweep of Stetson. Sunday's homer was her 14th of the season.
Stetson looked to get back in the game in the third and loaded the bases with two outs. However, Upstate starter Lexi Shubert struck out Hatter No. 5 hitter Jessica Griffin to get out of the inning unscathed and with a seven-run lead.
Upstate exploded with six runs in the third inning to open a 13-0 lead, and the Spartans did so using its power once again. Robinson started things off with a grand slam and Settlemyre cranked her second home run of the game, going back-to-back with Robinson to give the Spartans a 12-0 advantage. Marche Llanos walked with the bases loaded to make it a 13-0 game.
Upstate made it a 15-0 lead with a pair of runs in the fifth. Pinch hitter Kinsley Jennings drove in a run when she reached on a bases loaded fielder's choice and another run scored on an error in left field.
Demi Meza's three-run home run in the top of the fifth got the Hatters within 15-3, but the deficit was too much to overcome as the Spartans took the win.
Shubert earned the win in the five-inning game called by the mercy rule. She went three innings and scattered four hits with two strikeouts to improve to 24-5 on the year. Amanda Storch tossed the final two innings to finish things out, allowing three runs on three hits. Stetson starter Chelsea Hostetler took the loss after giving up five runs on four hits in 1/3 of an inning. She fell to 14-6 on the year.
Settlemyre finished the game 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs. Schneider was collected three hits and scored four times, while Robinson had one hit and was hit by a pitch twice.
