THIS WEEKENDS MATCH UPS  

Feb. 18 | 3 p.m. | vs. Northern Kentucky *  
Feb. 19 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Northern Kentucky * 
Feb. 20 | 1:00 pm. | vs. Canisius
Feb. 21 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Canisius
* Upstate Classic Tournament 
 

Live Stats: Live stats will be available for all contests this weekend and can be accessed through upstatespartans.com. 

USC Upstate prepares to host Northern Kentucky, South Carolina State, and Canisius this weekend for the Upstate Classic. Upstate will face off against Northern Kentucky Friday and Saturday along with two games against Canisius following the conclusion of the tournament. 

The Spartans swept N.C. Central, the University of Massachusetts, and Towson during Spartan Classic opening weekend. The Spartans kicked off the weekend beating N.C. Central 7-0 and UMass 10-2 on Friday and then continued their winning ways beating Towson 7-0 and UMass 2-1 on Saturday. Upstate concluded the weekend with a 13-6 win over Towson.  

Peyton Darnell earned herself the Big South Player of the Week after her stellar performance through the Spartan Classic. Marisa Soterakis was able to come up big for the Spartans, scoring the game winning run in the eighth inning against UMass. Hannah Houge pitched for 13.0 innings on the weekend and was credited with three of the five Spartan wins. Houge surrendered nine hits and six runs while recording 13 shutouts.  

Players to Watch:   

USC Upstate (5-0):   

Peyton Darnell started all five games for Upstate this weekend, serving as both a catcher and as the designated player. Darnell recorded a .563 batting average (9-16) with four home runs, 13 RBI, and a 1.375 slugging percentage. 

South Carolina State (0-4):  

DeAsia Lowther started all four of South Carolina State's games opening weekend, recording a .375 batting average (3-8) with two RBI and a .750 slugging percentage. 

Northern Kentucky (4-1):  

Kendyl McKeough started all five games for the Norse this past weekend at the Blue Hose Invitational, recording a.444 batting average (8-18) with five RBI and a .778 slugging percentage.  

Canisius (0-0):   

Morgan Altman had a successful 2021 finishing the season with a .306 batting average (33-108) along with 33 hits and a .509 slugging percentage.  

    
Tournament Schedule:  
February 18      S.C. State vs. Northern Kentucky   1:00 p.m. (Neutral Site Game)  
February 18      Northern Kentucky vs USC Upstate        3:00 p.m.  
February 18      Canisius vs. S.C. State               5:00 p.m. (Neutral Site Game) 
February 19      Canisius vs. Northern Kentucky              12:00 p.m. (Neutral Site Game) 
February 19      Northern Kentucky vs. USC Upstate            2:30 p.m.   
February 19      S.C. State vs. Canisius                5:00 p.m. (Neutral Site Game) 
February 20      Northern Kentucky vs. Canisius                 11:00 a.m.   
 
*Note all games are subject to change due to inclement weather  

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