Game 1 Box Score (.pdf)
Game 2 Box Score (.pdf)
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team closed out non-conference play Wednesday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of the South Carolina State Bulldogs at Cyrill Stadium.
Upstate improves to 34-12 overall while South Carolina State drops to 4-22 on the season.
The Spartans picked up the sweep with scores of 14-0 in five innings and 10-0 in six innings.
Upstate concludes its home schedule this weekend with a three-game conference series against Kennesaw State beginning with a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Game 1 – South Carolina State 0, USC Upstate 14 (5)
The Spartans scored all 14 runs in the first three innings to take game one of the doubleheader 14-0 in five innings. Upstate recorded 16 hits in the contest for its third-highest total of the season.
Lexi Shubert (6-4) earned the win pitching 3.0 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit, no walks and four strikeouts. Kierra Cromer (3-14) suffered the loss after throwing four innings and surrendered 14 runs (12 earned) on 16 hits, one walk and one strikeout.
Kendsey Chappelear, Ansley Gilstrap and Amy Szymanowski all had three hits in the contest, while Gilstrap and Szymanowski drove in three runs. Four different Bulldog players had one hit.
The Spartans struck for four runs in the bottom of the first to take an early 4-0 lead. Brittany Case, Ryan Rector and Abbie Millete each had an RBI in the first, while Rector scored the final run as Millete was caught in a rundown between first and second.
Upstate broke the game open with seven runs in the second to increase its advantage to 11-0. Szymanowski highlighted the frame with a three-run homer, her 12th of the season, to right field to give the Spartans the 11-run lead. Megan Obier started the scoring with her RBI triple and Chappelear followed with another RBI triple. Gilstrap added an RBI double and Case made it an 8-0 game with her single.
Gilstrap drove in her second and third runs of the game on another double during the third and would later come home on an RBI single from Karla Beasley. The three runs gave Upstate a 14-0 lead.
Game 2 – South Carolina State 0, USC Upstate 10 (6)
The Spartans used a five-run bottom of the sixth inning to secure the 10-0 victory and complete the doubleheader sweep of South Carolina State.
Holly McKinnon (20-6) went the distance in game two and allowed no runs on two hits, no walks and six strikeouts. Unique Whitehurst (1-8) took the loss after giving up 10 runs (eight earned) on nine hits, five walks and no strikeouts.
Gilstrap and Szymanowski both had two hits to lead the Upstate offense, and Beasley drove in a game-high four RBI. Jada Richardson and Kaneisha Pettiford had one hit apiece for the Bulldogs.
For the second straight game, the Spartans scored four times in the first inning to lead 4-0. Kayla Hussey plated two of the runs with her single to center field, while Gilstrap and Szymanowski also had RBI singles.
Upstate added to its lead in the bottom of the third when Beasley's sacrifice fly to center field made the score 5-0.
The Spartans ended the game in the sixth after hitting two home runs as part of a five-run frame, giving them the 10-0 victory. Case recorded her fourth home run of the season on a two-run blast to begin the scoring and Beasley followed with a three-run homer to capture the win for Upstate. For Beasley, it was her tenth home run of the year.
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