SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team will travel to Athens, Ga., tomorrow night to take on the No. 20 Georgia Bulldogs for the first time since the 2018 season.
 
USC Upstate (19-10, 8-1 Big South) is 2-4 all-time against Georgia (26-8, 6-6 SEC) dating back to the 2011 softball season. The Spartans only wins in the series came in 2013 and 2015 against the Bulldogs. The last time these two teams met, the Bulldogs defeated the Spartans by a final score of 10-0.
 
The Spartans are coming off one of their busiest weeks of the season, as USC Upstate played seven games in a six-day window. USC Upstate went 3-4 over that span against Western Carolina, Furman and Radford. In the Spartans extra inning win against Furman last week, USC Upstate pounded out a school recorded 20-hits against the Paladins. Over the next two games, however, the Spartans were only able to record a combined six hits in losses to Furman and Radford.
 
On Sunday afternoon, the Spartans offense began to click once again as they pounded out 17 total hits over a pair of games against the Highlanders. In the first game, the Spartans trailed going into the sixth inning of action, but a four run outburst highlighted by a Tiffany Domingue (York, S.C.) two-run homerun proved to be the difference maker. In the second game of the afternoon, the Spartans and the Highlanders were tied going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Once again, Domingue stepped to the plate and delivered the game-winning RBI.
 
For her efforts on the field, Domingue earned Big South Freshman of the Week accolades. Domingue started all seven games this week at second base for the Spartans and batted .304 in the process. The freshman recorded seven total hits, a double and three homeruns this week, including a multi homerun performance against Furman last Wednesday. The freshman also led the team with eight RBI's on the week, she finished second on the team in runs scored (4), total bases (17) and slugging percentage (.739). Defensively, she recorded 18 putouts and 18 assists in the field.
 
Other players to watch out for in the Spartans lineup is Peyton Darnell (Fort Mill, S.C.), Savannah Grigsby (Elgin, S.C.), Sarah Price (Landrum, S.C.) and Bre Cooper (Massillon, Ohio). Darnell is tied for the team lead in homeruns with six on the season and earned Big South Player of the Week honors earlier in the season.
 
Three-time Big South Freshman of the Week Bre Cooper has emerged onto the scene as a contributor for the Spartans this season. Cooper is third on the team in batting average (.349) and total hits (29). Grigsby, caught fire last week as she led the team with a .583 batting average. Grigsby also led the team in hits (14), doubles (2), total bases (19), slugging percentage (.792) and on-base percentage (.583). Grigsby was also second on the team in homeruns (1) and third on the team in RBI's (4). The sophomore also had 11 putouts in the field.
 
Price has been one of the most reliable players in the Spartans lineup over her three-year career in the green and black. This season the sophomore shortstop leads the team in batting average (.380), at-bats (100), runs scored (28) and hits (38).   
Georgia is led offensively by Lacey Fincher and Jaiden Fields this season. Fincher is batting .390 this season with 23 runs scored, 32 total hits, 5 doubles, 11 homeruns, 26 RBI's and 70 total bases. Fincher also has 140 putouts in the field and has a .993 fielding average. Fields is batting .324 this season with 13 runs, 22 hits, 2 doubles, 5 homeruns, 39 total bases and a .923 fielding average. Georgia's pitching staff this season has a team earned run average (ERA) of 2.40 and opponents are hitting .214 against the Bulldog staff.
 
Links to the livestream, Livestats and the postgame recap following the days action can be found on upstatespartans.com.
 
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