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Nashville, Tenn. – Ryan Rector's grand slam with two outs in the top of the 11th inning, her second home run of the afternoon, propelled the USC Upstate softball team to a 6-3 win in 11 innings over the Lipscomb Bisons Sunday afternoon from Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium to clinch the series victory.
Upstate improves to 25-4 on the season and 2-1 in league play, while Lipscomb falls to 15-14 overall and 1-2 in the conference.
Holly McKinnon (15-1) tied Morgan Childers' school record by pitching all 11 innings to earn her second win of the series. McKinnon allowed three runs (two earned) in the finale on seven hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts. Tanner Sanders (7-8) suffered the loss in relief after giving up four runs (one earned) on five hits, two walks and five strikeouts.
Rector drove in all six runs on Sunday, setting a new career-high, and tied for the team-lead at two hits with Kendsey Chappelear. Kelly Young, who started the game on the mound, led the Bisons with two hits and Baylee Williams had three RBI.
McKinnon started the game by retiring eight of the first 13 batters she faced until allowing a one-out walk to Sarah Higgins in the bottom of the fourth. Williams followed to give Lipscomb a 2-0 lead after hitting a 3-2 pitch from McKinnon over the right center field fence.
Rector hit her first home run of the day in the top of the sixth to even the score at 2-2 with one out. After Chappelear grounded out to start the sixth, Brittany Case reached on a walk setting up Rector for the game-tying home run. The junior took a 1-0 pitch from Young and hit it just over the fence in right center field.
The teams would combine to leave 12 runners on base from the seventh through tenth innings. The Spartans left the bases loaded in both the seventh and tenth until Rector used her bat again to put Upstate in the lead for good. Rector battled Sanders with a 10-pitch at-bat with two outs in the top of the 11th. The junior belted a 3-2 offering over the left center field fence to give the Spartans their first lead of the day at 6-2 scoring Case, Chappelear and Megan Obier.
The Bisons managed to score just once in the bottom of the 11th on a sacrifice fly to left field by Williams, cutting Upstate's lead to 6-3 with one out. McKinnon sat down the next two batters on a fielder's choice and ground out to give the Spartans the series victory.
Upstate returns to Cyrill Stadium for five straight games this week beginning Wednesday, Mar. 23 with a doubleheader against East Tennessee State beginning at 4 p.m. on ASun.TV.
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