SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team battled all afternoon on Sunday at Cyrill Softball Stadium and came away with a pair of wins over Radford University to take the weekend series over the Highlanders.
With the pair of wins on Sunday afternoon, the Spartans move to 8-1 in Big South competition this season and are currently tied for first with Campbell. USC Upstate (19-10, 8-1 Big South) moves to 13-2 at home this season and the Spartans are now just one home win away from their 400
th win inside Cyrill Softball Stadium.
Radford (13-22, 6-3 Big South) once again struck first in first game of the afternoon, with a sacrifice fly from Abby Wilson. In the third inning, the Highlanders struck once again with a two-run double from Madison Canady and an RBI single frim Destiny Freeman. Trailing 4-0 the Spartan offense got to work at chipping away the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Back-to-back batters were hit by a pitch to start the inning,
Celeste Delorenzo (Ormond Beach, Fla.) moved both runners over on a sacrifice bunt.
Bre Cooper (Massillon, Ohio) belted a two-run single to center field to cut the Highlanders lead in half.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Spartan offense came alive against the Highlanders pitching.
Sarah Price (Landrum, S.C.) began the inning with a full count walk and came around to score on
Tiffany Domingue's (York, S.C.) third two-run homerun of the week.
Madison Lanoux (Fleming Island, Fla.) walked on a full count and advanced to third on a double by
Savannah Grigsby (Elgin, S.C.).
Alexa Sanchez (Miami, Fla.) recorded a one out pinch hit RBI single to right field to give the Spartans the lead.
Marisa Soterakis (Miramar, Fla.) came through with an RBI bunt to give the Spartans and insurance run heading into the seventh inning.
In the top of the seventh inning, Sydney Fisher laced a ball to the right field wall and attempted to stretch a single into a double, but Delorenzo played the ball perfectly off the wall and threw Fisher out at second. Wilson flew out to center field with a runner on first to end the game for the Highlanders.
In the second game of the afternoon, the Spartans struck first for the first time all weekend. Soterakis reached on a bunt single to start the inning and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Delorenzo. Prince blasted a single down the left field line to score the first run of the game for either team.
Radford quickly tied the game with a leadoff homerun from Madison Canady in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning,
Madison Hill (Eagle Rock, Va.) began the inning with a double to left center field and
Olivia Marshall (Mooresville, N.C.) came in to run for Hill. A sacrifice bunt from Soterakis, setup an RBI single from Delorenzo. A few batters later and Price picked up her second RBI of the game with an RBI single to left field.
Once again, Radford countered in the top of the sixth inning, Autumn Slemaker slapped a two-run double down the left field line to tie the game at three. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Delorenzo began the inning with an infield single. After a sacrifice bunt from Cooper, Price moved Delorenzo over to third on a single down the left field line. Domingue then stepped to the plate and hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to give the Spartans the win on Sunday afternoon.
Game 1: USC Upstate 6, Radford 4
Scoring Breakdown
Top 1st: Abby Wilson hit an RBI sacrifice fly to start the scoring for Radford.
Top 3rd: A two-run double to right center field from Madison Canady gave the Highlanders a 3-0 edge. Moments later, Destiney Freeman singled in a run to give Radford a 4-0 advantage.
Bottom 3rd: Bre Cooper picked up a pair of RBI's on a single to center field.
Bottom 6th: Domnigue hit her third two-run homerun of the week to tie the game at 4.
Alexa Sanchez came through with pinch hit RBI single to give the Spartans the lead.
Marisa Soterakis laid down an RBI bunt single to give the Spartans an insurance run.
Notables
Cooper: 1-4, 2 RBI's
Domingue: 1-3, 1 homerun, 1 run scored and 2 RBI's
Grigsby: 3-3, 1 run scored
Sanchez: 1-1, RBI
Soterakis: 1-2, run scored and an RBI
Savannah Brown: 7.0 innings pitched, 4 earned runs, 3 strike outs on 94 total pitches.
Game 2: USC Upstate 4, Radford 3
Scoring Breakdown
Bottom 3rd: Sarah Price singled down the left field line to break a scoreless tie in the second game of the afternoon.
Top 4th: Madison Canady tied the game with a leadoff homerun to left center field.
Bottom 5th: Delorenzo and Price recorded RBI singles to give the Spartans a 3-1 advantage.
Top 6th: Autumn Slemaker slapped a two-run double down the left field line to tie the game once again.
Bottom 7th: With a runner on third with one out in the inning, Domingue stepped to the plate and hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to center field.
Notables
Price: 3-4, 2 RBI's
Hill: 1-1, double
Delorenzo: 2-2, run scored and an RBI
Domingue: 0-3, RBI
UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans are hitting the road once again, this time USC Upstate is traveling to Athens Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m.
Spartans Win Today, You Save Tomorrow!
Save 50% off online orders at Papa John's locations across the Upstate. Use the code USCUP50 when placing online orders the day after Upstate victories. Also tomorrow, visit The Beacon Drive-In located in Spartanburg and show the win graphic posted to the @UpstateSpartans Instagram account to claim a free sweet tea as part of the "Sweet Taste of Victory" promotion. No purchase necessary.
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