SPARTANBURG, S.C. – For the first time in two seasons, the USC Upstate softball team is headed to the Sunshine State for a tournament as they participate in the Jacksonville/University of North Florida Spring Break Challenge this weekend.
 
The last time the Spartans visited Florida for a softball tournament they participated in the Clearwater Parks and Recreation Showcase Tournament in 2019. The Spartans finished with a 2-2 record at the tournament with wins over Eastern Illinois and Colgate. Last season, the Spartans traveled to the Sunshine State to play Stetson in what turned out to be the final games of the 2020 season.
 
USC Upstate is 6-1 overall this season after finishing 3-1 in the Wings ETC… Classic this past weekend at Cyrill Stadium. The Spartans picked up a pair of wins over South Carolina State and split with East Tennessee State University. Junior pitcher Mallie Brown (Stockbridge, Ga.) threw a complete game no-hitter against South Carolina State to open up the tournament for the Spartans. The no-hitter was the 35^th in school history and gives Brown 1.5 no-hitters for her career at Upstate. Last season, Brown was part of a tandem no-hitter against Maryland Eastern Shore.
 
Brown earned co-Big South Pitcher of the week honors for her performance on the field. Marisa Soterakis (Miramar, Fla.) earned Player of the Week honors after she batted .444 for the weekend. Cassie Norris earned Big South Freshman of the Week honors after she hit .375 with three hits, five runs and four RBI's on the weekend series. The Spartans have now won five out of a possible six Player of the Week honors from the Big South this season.
 
Against former ASUN Rivals North Florida and Jacksonville, the Spartans are 44-13 all-time against the Sunshine State programs. USC Upstate has outscored the Dolphins and the Ospreys by a combined score of 290-121 since the 2009 season. USC Upstate will face North Florida on Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. and the Spartans will end the tournament playing Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
 
USC Upstate will face Florida A&M and Georgia State for the first time in program history this weekend when they travel down to Jacksonville. The Rattlers are currently 0-4 on the season and the Spartans will face off against Florida A&M at 7:30 p.m. on Friday evening. On Saturday morning the Spartans will face the 6-5 Georgia State Panthers.
 
USC Upstate Tournament Schedule
March 5                USC Upstate at UNF                     5:00 p.m. (Swoop Life Live)
March 5                Florida A&M vs USC Upstate       7:30 p.m. (Neutral Site Game, Swoop Life Live)
March 6                USC Upstate at Georgia State      10:30 a.m. (Neutral Site Game, Jacksonville Campus)
March 6                USC Upstate at Jacksonville          3:30 p.m.
March 7                USC Upstate at Jacksonville          12:30 p.m.         
*Note all games are subject to change due to inclement weather
 
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