SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and runners at the corners, freshman Peyton Darnell stepped to the plate and crushed a three-run bomb over the center field wall to help USC Upstate complete the improbable 6-5 comeback over Buffalo on Sunday afternoon at Cyrill Stadium.
 
USC Upstate (8-1) has now won six consecutive games dating back to last weekend's loss to Marshall. Darnell played an essential role in the Spartans lineup today going 2-for-4 at the plate with a quartet of RBI's. Fellow freshman Tiffany Domingue drove in a pair of run's for the Spartans in rout to a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Savannah Grigsby was the third Spartan to finish the game with a pair of hits in the contest.
 
With the loss Buffalo (2-7) went winless in the Spartan Classic and they have now lost six straight dating back to last weekend. Both Brianna Castro and Jenna Richmond had two-RBI performances for the Bulls, while Anna Aguon was the only Buffalo player to record more than one hit in the contest.
 
Scoring Breakdown:
 
Bottom 1^st: With one away in the inning Grigsby singled to third base on a 2-2 count to keep the inning alive. Grigsby then stole second and Domingue walked to put a pair of runners on for USC Upstate. The two runners advanced 60-feet after a wild pitch and Darnell singled through the left side of the infield to score the first run of the game.
 
Top 3^rd: Kassidy Aiken drew a leadoff walk and two batters later came around to score on an Anna Aguon double off the left field wall.
 
Bottom 3^rd: The game did not stay tied for very long, however, as Domingue crushed the first pitch she saw over the right center field fence to lead-off the inning.
 
Top 6^th: Aguon singled to third base to begin the inning and advanced into scoring position following a Jenelle Martinez hit by pitch. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners up 60-feet and with two outs in the inning Brianna Castro smashed a double to right field to clear the bases and give the Bulls their first lead of the game. Jenna Richmond then sent a ball over the center field fence to give Buffalo a commanding 5-2 lead.  
 
Bottom 7^th: Down 0-2 in the count, Sarah Price was plunked with a pitch to give the Spartans a lead-off base runner. Grigsby reached on a bunt single and Domingue drove in Price on a single up the middle. One out later and Darnell stepped back into the batters box, down 0-2 in the count the freshman drilled a pitch over the center field wall to give the Spartans a 6-5 come from behind victory.
 
Notables
Peyton Darnell: 2-for-4, 4 RBI's and 1 run.
Tiffany Domingue: 2-for-3, 2 RBI's, 1 run and a walk.
Savannah Grigsby: 2-for-4 with 2 runs.
Celina Sullivan improved to 3-1 on the season.
 
UP next for the Spartans
For the first time all season the Spartans will travel away from Cyrill Stadium when they travel to Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon.

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