SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate softball opened the 2020 campaign Saturday evening against Bucknell University at Cyrill Stadium. The Spartans overcame freezing weather conditions to come back and walk it off against the Bisons as sophomore Sarah Price lit up left center with bases loaded for a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving Upstate a 3-2 season-opening win.

"We've got 14 new players including 11 freshmen, so I didn't think we'd pull that game out because it's usually upper class leadership doing that," said head coach Chris Hawkins. "I couldn't be more proud of them. It really made them realize that even if they're down, they can come back and win."

SCORING BREAKDOWN
B2: Tiffany Domingue reached base and advanced to second on an error by Bucknell's shortstop Chase Knapp before Alicia Dorgan later knocked in Emily Garza, who was pinch running for Domingue, with a single through the five hole to get the Spartans on the board first, 1-0.

T5: Bucknell's Halie Mariano led off the fifth inning with a walk, and Allyse Volpe pushed her to second on a single to left. Upstate's right fielder Kasey Widmyer mishandled a rocket single from Knapp, allowing Mariano and Volpe to cross the plate and give the Bisons a 2-1 lead.

B7: Dorgan picked up her second hit of the night with a one-out single to third before Savannah Grigsby took advantage of another error from Knapp to reach base and advance Dorgan to second. Marisa Soterakis then loaded the bases with a single to shortstop, setting Price up for her walk-off single to the gap in left center to give the Spartans the 3-2 win.

NOTABLES
Senior Erin Hill entered the circle in relief in the second inning and struck out Volpe to get the Spartans out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam. She finished the night with a career-high 11 strikeouts and one walk while giving up four hits and two unearned runs in 5.1 innings of work.

UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans close out their opening weekend with a doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 9. They face Saint Francis University first at 1 p.m. before taking on Marshall University at 3 p.m.

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