SPARTANBURG, S.C. – For the first time in the month of March the USC Upstate softball team returns home to Cyrill Stadium as they play host to South Carolina State for a high noon double-header showdown.
 
USC Upstate (11-4, 3-0 Big South) is coming off a weekend sweep of Big South foe Charleston Southern. The Spartans scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to complete the comeback and start 3-0 in Big South play for the second consecutive conference season.
 
Peyton Darnell (Fort Mill, S.C.) became the fourth different Spartan freshman to earn Big South Freshman of the Week accolades for her performance on the field. Darnell led the Spartans offense with six RBI's, nine total bases and recorded an. 818 slugging percentage. The Palmetto State native also batted .364 and recorded a trio of extra base hits (2 doubles and a homerun).
 
Sarah Price (Landrum, S.C.) and Marisa Soterakis (Miramar, Fla.) both had great weekends at the plate as each player batted over .500 for the weekend. Darnell and fellow freshman Tiffany Domingue (York, S.C.) combined for 10 of the teams 18 RBI's on the weekend.
 
Since the 2014 softball season, USC Upstate is 8-0 against South Carolina State (1-9) and they have outscored the Bulldogs by a combined score of 87-5 over that span. Earlier this season the Bulldogs traveled to Cyrill Stadium to play in the Wings ETC… Classic and went 0-2 against USC Upstate.
 
Junior pitcher Mallie Brown (Stockbridge, Ga.) became the 35^th USC Upstate pitcher to throw a no-hitter when she faced the Bulldogs on February 27^th. The Peach State native struck out a career high 12 batters as the Spartans went on to win 4-0.
 
In game two of the weekend, Cassie Norris (Powell, Tenn.) and Savannah Grigsby (Elgin, S.C.) led the Spartan offense with a trio of hits and a trio of RBI's each against the Bulldogs. Adison Yoder (Newton, N.C.) pitched 5.1 innings and struck out six batters on her way to her first collegiate win.
 
Since the Bulldogs last traveled to Spartanburg, they were able to snap a 51-game losing streak dating back to April 28, 2018. South Carolina State scored eight runs against Presbyterian and blanked the Bluehose to pick up the run rule win.  This past weekend the Bulldogs opened up conference play against North Carolina A&T and lost all four games.  
 
Live stats and a recap of the day's action can be found at upstatespartans.com.  
 
Attendance Policies
For the outdoor sports of baseball, softball and men's and women's soccer, face coverings will be required and social distancing protocols will be in place that will limit seating capacity in the grandstands of Harley Park (baseball), Cyrill Stadium (softball) and County-University Soccer Stadium (men's and women's soccer).  Attendees will be allowed to bring tailgate chairs to utilize the large grass berms at these venues, and game operations staff will direct fans to sit in a socially distant manner.
 
Admission is not charged for USC Upstate baseball, softball and soccer in 2021 thanks to our on-going partnership with Ingles Markets, the official grocer of the Spartans.
Schedules are subject to change at any time and the most up-to-date schedule may be found on each program's webpage at upstatespartans.com.
 
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