Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team came back from three runs down in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings, and won on an error in the tenth, as the Spartans closed out a three-game series against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Saturday with a 5-4 victory in ten innings.

Upstate improves to 28-6 overall and 3-3 in the conference, while FGCU falls to 18-17 on the season and 2-1 in league play. For the second straight series, the Spartans rallied late to win the final game in extra innings after defeating Lipscomb in 11 innings on Mar. 20.

Holly McKinnon (17-2) pitched over 10.0 innings for the second time this season as the junior threw all 10 frames in the finale and gave up four runs on 11 hits, two walks and seven strikeouts. Riley Randolph (7-3) suffered the loss after allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits, two walks and two strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work.

Brittany Case led Upstate with a 3-for-5 performance at the plate and drove in two runs, and three other Spartans had two hits each. Kendsey Chappelear and Ansley Gilstrap both contributed one RBI. Makensie McAvoy recorded three hits for the Eagles, while Kelsey Huff and Louie Ross posted two RBI apiece.

Trailing 3-0 heading to the bottom of the seventh, Upstate put its first two runners on board after Gilstrap singled and Abbie Millete drew a walk. Megan Obier loaded the bases after she was hit by a pitch. Chappelear made it 3-1 with her groundout to the pitcher for the second out of the inning. Case evened the game at 3-3 the following at-bat after taking a 2-1 pitch down the left field line for a single, plating both Obier and Lindsay O'Steen.

The Spartans left the bases loaded in the eighth, and Florida Gulf Coast would take a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth on Huff's RBI sacrifice fly to left field. Gilstrap tied the game again in the bottom-half of the ninth on her sacrifice fly to center field.

The game reached international tiebreaker rules in the tenth as FGCU placed a runner, McAvoy, on second to start the inning. McAvoy advanced to third on a groundout by Racquel Fournet, but McKinnon responded by getting the final two outs on a pop out and strikeout.

Upstate had Tarynn Tirpak begin the bottom of the tenth at second base as Obier led off the inning. Obier looked to sacrifice Tirpak to third with a bunt, but the throw to first sailed high allowing Tirpak to score the game-winning run and complete the comeback for the Spartans.

The Eagles led 3-0 after five innings as they plated one run in the first and two in the fifth. Ross drove in the game's first run on her bunt single back to McKinnon in the top of the first. Florida Gulf Coast extended its lead to 3-0 in the fifth on RBI's from Huff and Ross.

Upstate begins a seven-game road trip Tuesday evening at 5 p.m. as it travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. to face the North Carolina Tar Heels.

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