SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball went 2-0 on Friday afternoon with a double-header sweep over Dayton at Cyrill Stadium.
Savannah Brown (Charlotte, N.C.) stood out in the first game of the double-header as she struck out a career high 14 batters on her way to her first victory of the season. Freshman outfielder
Celeste Delorenzo (Ormond Beach, Fla.) came up big in the bottom 9
th inning with her first career hit, walk-off hit and game winning RBI all in the same at-bat.
Marisa Soterakis (Miramar, Fla.) led the offense with a 2-for-4 day at the plate and an RBI.
Cassie Norris (Powell, Tenn.) was the third Spartan with an RBI knock in the first game of the season.
In game two of the double-header the Spartan offense came alive in the third inning, when they belted out four runs to take the lead over the Flyers.
Sarah Price (Landrum, S.C.) led the offensive charge with a three-RBI double to center field and two batters later
Tiffany Domingue (York, S.C.) slapped a solo homerun over the centerfield wall.
Mallie Brown (Stockbridge, Ga.) mowed down eight Flyers as she picked up her first win of the season.
Game 1: USC Upstate 3, Dayton 2
Scoring Breakdown
Bottom 2nd: Norris began the inning by reaching on an error by the Flyers first baseman.
Olivia Marshall came in to pinch run for Norris and advanced to third on a
Madison Lanoux (Fleming Island, Fla.) double to right field. On a 1-2 count, Soterakis belted an RBI single to center field to break the scoreless tie.
Top 5th: With two away in the top of the inning, Ehrenborg homered over the right center field fence to tie the game at one.
Bottom 5th: Domingue doubled down the left field line with one out in the inning. Two batters later, Norris doubled down the right field line to give the Spartans a 2-1 advantage.
Top 6th: Gressly led off the sixth inning with a solo shot over the center field fence.
Bottom 9th: With the international run rule in effect for extra innings, Soterakis began the inning on second base.
Alexa Sanchez moved the runner over with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt. After intentionally walking Price, Delorenzo played hero as she singled to center field to bring home the winning run.
Notables
Marisa Soterakis went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored in the contest.
Celeste Delorenzo and
Cassie Norris each picked up RBI knocks in the win.
Savannah Brown pitched all 9.0 innings and struck out 14 of the 36 batters she faced.
Game 2: USC Upstate 5, Dayton 2
Scoring Breakdown
Top 3rd: Megan Ward singled to the pitcher to keep the inning alive with two outs. Abby Ehrenborg then smoked a two-run homerun off the scoreboard in left field to break the scoreless tie in the contest.
Bottom 3rd: Freshman
Bre Cooper singled up the middle to lead off the bottom of the inning.
Savannah Grigsby then singled back to the pitcher, Soterakis followed suite and loaded up the bases with a single to center field. Facing a 2-2 count, Price ripped a bases clearing double to left center field to give the Spartans a 4-2 advantage.
Bottom 6th: With two outs in the inning,
Dezi Williams singled through the left side of the infield. Moments later on a stolen base attempt, Williams came around to score as the Flyers catcher tossed the ball into center field.
Notables
Price finished the game 1-for-3 with a trio of RBI's, while Grigsby led the offense with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Domingue hit the first homerun of the season for the Spartans,
Mallie Brown pitched a complete game and struck out eight batters on the evening.
UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans will return to Cyrill Stadium on Sunday afternoon for a double-header tilt with North Carolina Central. Both games will be shown on ESPN+.
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