BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The USC Upstate softball team fought till the end on Saturday afternoon, but came home with the runner-up trophy following a 5-2 defeat to Campbell in the winner-take all title game on Saturday evening.
 
USC Upstate finishes the season with a 29-17 overall record, while Campbell moves onto the NCAA Regionals with an overall record of 27-17. Mallie Brown (Stockbridge, Ga.), Peyton Darnell (Fort Mill, S.C.) and Tiffany Domingue (York, S.C.) earned All-Tournament honors for their performance on the field.
 
Brown finished the tournament with a 3-1 record, making four starts and throwing three complete games. The junior recorded two shutouts in the tournament and recorded an overall ERA of 1.38. Brown pitched 25.1 innings, gave up 5 earned runs, walked 9 batters and struck out a team best 21 batters.
 
Darnell hit .250 in the tournament in five starts behind the plate. The freshman recorded three hits, a homerun and two RBI's in the tournament. Darnell led the team with a .500 slugging percentage and tied for the team lead with six total bases. The freshman catcher also recorded 29 putouts in the field and registered a pair of assists.
 
Domingue hit .267 in the tournament in five starts at second base. The freshman led the team with four hits and registered a triple in the process. Domingue tied Darnell in RBI's (2) and total bases (6), the freshman recorded a .400 slugging percentage.
 
In the first game of the afternoon, the Spartans had to win to force a decisive second game against Campbell. Brown and Megan Richards of Campbell put on a pitching clinic for the fans as they worked their way through the opposing lineup.
 
Then in the top of the sixth inning, Madison Lanoux (Fleming Island, Fla.) reached on a fielding error by the left fielder. A wild pitch in the next at-bat allowed Lanoux to advance from second to third base. With one out in the inning, Darnell hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score the go-ahead run for the Spartans.
 
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Camels made it interesting with runners on first and second and one out in the inning. Brown stood in the circle calm-and-collected and struck out her eighth batter of the game for the second. Then Brown induced a fly out to left field to close the game and give the Spartans the win. For Brown it was her 14^th win of the season and her second consecutive complete game shutout in the tournament. The junior right-hander threw 15 consecutive scoreless innings for the Spartans in her first three starts of the tournament.
 
In the second game of the afternoon, the Spartans once again turned to their ace to start the game. With the championship on the line, the Camels struck first in the bottom half of the first inning. The lead was short lived as the Spartans offense caught fire in the top of the second inning.
 
Darnell started-off the inning, with a rocket of a shot off indoor practice facility beyond the left field fence to tie the game. Savannah Grigsby (Elgin, S.C.) then reached via hit by pitch and moved into scoring position following a Bre Cooper (Massillon, Ohio) single. One batter later Marisa Soterakis (Miramar, Fla.) doubled in a run to give the Spartans the lead.
 
Campbell tied the game in the bottom of the second and added run in both the fourth and fifth innings to take the victory and the championship away from the Spartans.  

 
Game One: USC Upstate 1, Campbell 0

Scoring Breakdown
Top 6^th: Madison Lanoux (Fleming Island, Fla.) reached on a fielding error by the left fielder. A wild pitch in the next at-bat allowed Lanoux to advance from second to third base. With one out in the inning, Darnell hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score the go-ahead run for the Spartans.

Notables
Lanoux: Run scored
Darnell: RBI
Grigsby: 1-3
Delorenzo: 1-3
Soterakis: 1-3
M. Brown: W, 7.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 3 BB, 8 K's
 
Game Two: USC Upstate 2, Campbell 5

Scoring Breakdown
Bottom 1^st: Bri Bryant singled to start the game and moved into scoring position with a stolen base. Bryant advanced to third on a double by Destini England and came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Claudia Ware.
 
Top 2^nd: Darnell started-off the inning, with a rocket of a shot off indoor practice facility beyond the left field fence to tie the game. Savannah Grigsby (Elgin, S.C.) then reached via hit by pitch and moved into scoring position following a Bre Cooper (Massillon, Ohio) single. One batter later Marisa Soterakis (Miramar, Fla.) doubled in a run to give the Spartans the lead.
 
Bottom 2^nd: Delaney McDilda got on base via hit by pitch to start-off the inning and moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt. One batter later McDilda came around to score on a fielding error by the Spartans.
 
Bottom 4^th: Morgan Rios hit a solo homerun to left field to give the Camels the lead in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Bottom 5^th: Ware doubled with one out in the inning and moved over to second on a walk by Claire Blount. Kayla Fredendall singled to the outfield and drove in an insurance run for the Camels. An RBI single from McDilda added to the Camels lead in the fifth inning.

Notables
Price: 1-4
Domingue: 2-4
Darnell: 1-2, Run, HR, RBI, BB
Cooper: 1-3
Soterakis: 1-3, RBI, 2B
M. Brown: 4.1 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K's

UP next for the Spartans
This concludes the 2021 softball season for USC Upstate.
 
JOIN UP
Make a difference in the lives of USC Upstate student-athletes!  Donate to the USC Upstate U Club today!
 
Keep UP with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics
Twitter: @UpstateSoftball
Instagram: @upstatesoftball
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans