SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team swept South Carolina State by a combined score of 23-0 on Saturday afternoon at Cyrill Stadium.
 
USC Upstate (16-6) improved to 6-0 all-time against South Carolina State (0-10) on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans have outscored the Bulldogs 70-0 overall in the series dating back to the 2014 season. With the two victories over S.C. State, USC Upstate improves to 14-1 at Cyrill Stadium.
 
Tiffany Domingue (York, S.C.) and Peyton Darnell (Fort Mill, S.C.) passed the potent USC Upstate offense. Domingue went 3-for-5 at the plate with 4 RBI's and a trio of run's scored. Darnell ended the day with a 4-for-5 day at the plate with 4 RBI's and a quartet of runs scored. Alyssa Oakes, Bella Bertot and Erin Hill all finished the day with multi-RBI outings for the Spartans.
 
The Spartans used four pitchers over the double-header sweep and held S.C. State to just four hits on the afternoon. Savannah Brown and Mallie Brown each picked-up a win in the circle for USC Upstate.
 
In game one of the afternoon the Spartan offense struck fast and early as USC Upstate held an 8-0 lead after just two innings of action. A three-run homerun by Domingue and a two-run dinger by Oakes paved the way for the Spartans early. Bertot laced a two-run double in the third and an RBI triple by Sarah Price ended the scoring for the Spartans in the opening game.
 
In the second game of the afternoon Darnell opened the scoring with a scorching three-run double down the left field line. In the second inning Hill came through with a two-run triple to right field, two innings later Hill drove in her third run of the game with an RBI double to right center field.
 
Game One: S.C. State 0, USC Upstate 12
 
Scoring Breakdown
 
Bottom 1^st: Sarah Price began the inning with a leadoff walk and she immediately stole second base to move into scoring position. Savannah Grigsby reached on an error and both Grigsby and Price stole second and third base respectively. Freshman second baseman Tiffany Domingue crushed a 1-1 pitch over the left center field wall to give the Spartans a 3-0 advantage. Peyton Darnell singled through the right side and moved to third on an Alicia Dorgan single. Max Barnes infield single scored the final run of the inning for USC Upstate.
 
Bottom 2^nd: Dezi Williams walked to leadoff the inning and stole second to move into scoring position. With one out in the inning Williams came around to score on a Grigsby single up the middle. Grigsby came around to score on a Darnell double to right center field. Facing a 1-0 count, Oakes launched a two-run homerun over the left field fence to end the scoring for the Spartans.
 
Bottom 3^rd: With two outs in the inning, Grigsby kept the inning alive with a single up the middle of the infield. A single by Domingue advanced Grigsby into scoring position and the two runners moved up on a passed ball moments later. After a Darnell walk loaded the bases, Bertot roped a two-run double to give the Spartans a 10-0 lead.
 
Bottom 4^th: A two out walk to Cheyenne Nunez kept the inning alive for USC Upstate. Price capitalized on the opportunity with an RBI triple to right center field. Price scored on the play after the second baseman for South Carolina State threw the ball into the Spartans dugout.
 
Notables
 
Tiffany Domingue went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of runs and a trio of RBI's to lead the Spartan offense. Peyton Darnell, Savannah Grigsby and Alicia Dorgan all had multi-hit performances, while Alyssa Oakes and Bella Bertot each had multi-RBI performances.
 
Savannah Brown picked up her first win of the season in the circle, pitching a one hit shutout in three-innings of work. Celina Sullivan pitched the final two innings of the game to keep the game a shutout.
 
Game Two: S.C. State 0, USC Upstate 11
 
Scoring Breakdown
 
Bottom 1^st: Sarah Price opened the inning with a single to left field and then stole second one pitch later. Grigsby drew a walk and both runners moved up a base on a back-to-back wild pitch, pass ball sequence from South Carolina State. Domingue drew a full count walk to load up the bases for the Spartans in the first inning. Darnell took advantage and roped a bases clearing double down the left field line to break the game open. A few batters later Mallie Brown hit a sacrifice run to left field and Sarah Price came back around in the order and drew a bases loaded walk to pick up the final RBI of the inning.
 
Bottom 2^nd: With one out in the inning Darnell singled through the left side of the infield and one batter later moved to second on a passed ball. Dorgan walked with two outs in the inning and Erin Hill ripped a triple to right field to bring in a pair of runs for the Spartans.
 
Bottom 3^rd: Dezi Williams singled to the pitcher and stole second on the next play. With one out in the inning Williams stole third base and Grigsby brought her home with a double up the middle. Domingue then switched places with Grigsby with an RBI double of her own.
 
Bottom 4^th: Dorgan walked to start off the inning and came around to score on an RBI double from Hill. Kasey Widmyer singled to centerfield to move Hill over to third. Hill scored on a controversial play as Widmyer and Williams were called out on a double play.
 
Notables
 
Peyton Darnell and Erin Hill led the Spartan offense with a pair of hits and a trio of RBI's. Alicia Dorgan led the team with three-runs in the contest.
 
Mallie Brown picked up her fifth win of the season in the circle after 3.2 innings of shutout softball. Kasey Widmyer pitched 1.1 innings of no-hit softball to close out the game for the Spartans.
 
UP Next for the Spartans
 
USC Upstate will hit the road this coming Wednesday with a trip to the Sunshine State. The Spartans will take on Stetson University in a double-header starting at 4:00 p.m. in Deland, Fla.
 
The Spartans return to Cyrill Stadium to play Campbell on Saturday, March 28^th. The double-header will start at 1:00 p.m.  

Keep UP with the Spartans
Facebook (UpstateAthletics)
Twitter (@UpstateSoftball)
Instagram (@upstatespartans)
YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics)