USC Upstate (41-4, 15-3 Big South) vs. #13 Georgia (35-9, 9-6 SEC)
April 20 | 6:00 p.m.
*Note all games are subject to change due to inclement weather
Live Stats: Live stats will be available for all contests this week and can be accessed through upstatespartans.com.
Watch: The game will be available to stream through the SEC Network+.
Spartanburg S.C. - Upstate takes a break from Big South competition to take on #13 University of Georgia Athens in a mid-week contest on the road.
The Spartans are coming off a 2-1 series win over Charleston Southern. Upstate was unable to extend its 15-game winning streak as they fell 16-0 in game one. This was Upstate's first double-digit loss of the season as well as its first shutout loss.
Saturday proved to be a different story, as Upstate won 10-2 in six innings. The Spartans kicked off game two with five runs in the first three complete innings compared to CSU's zero. Summer Johnson recorded two home runs while Tiffany Domingue hit one and Alanna Deal had a walk-off homer to end the game. Domingue scored three runs in the game, as did Celeste Delorenzo.
To take the series, Upstate finished game three with a 9-0 shutout victory in six innings. Johnson once again sailed one over the fence, as did Tiffany Domingue, putting them both at seven home runs for the season. Domingue, Delorenzo, and Johnson all scored two runs on the day while Sarah Price, Madison Lanoux, and Casey Goguts had one apiece.
Hannah Houge took the mound for games one and three and had a combined 10 strikeouts. Houge pitched her 13th shutout in game three against CSU. Prior to game one, Houge was riding an eight-game winning streak. Alyssa Kelly pitched 6.0 innings and had four strikeouts. Kelly is currently riding a 10-game winning streak with her last loss being against Longwood (3/11/2022).
Houge retained her national rankings through the weekend, remaining at a second-place ranking for victories (24) and for shutouts (13), along with still being one of only two pitchers in the nation to achieve double-digit shutouts for the season. Houge is also ranked eighth for strikeouts (212), eighth for innings pitched (153.2), 14th for ERA (1.28), 25th for hits/ 7.0 innings pitched (4.24), 35th for strikeouts/ 7.0 innings pitched (9.7), and 54th for strike-to-walk ratio (4.93).
Kelly joins Houge in national rankings as she is ranked 11th in walks/7.0 innings pitched (0.81), 13th for strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.64), 15th for shutouts (6), and 18th in ERA (1.33). Peyton Darnell is ranked fifth for RBI (51), 20th for RBI/game (1.13), 44th for home runs (12), and 70th for total bases (84). Sarah Price is ranked ninth for stolen bases (30), 15th for stolen bases/game (0.67), and 43rd for the toughest to strikeout (19.7). Summer Johnson also improved her national ranking, coming in at 20th for the toughest to strikeout (24.2), while Marisa Soterakis sits at seventh for sacrificed bunts per game (.31).
Upstate is ranked second in winning percentage (.911), third in ERA (1.51), third in shutouts (20), sixth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.14), eighth in stolen bases per game (2.33), eighth in fielding percentage (.979), 10th in doubles (69), and 19th in batting average (.321). This is also the seventh week in a row that USC Upstate Softball has received votes for the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll (15 votes) and for the ESPN Collegiate Top 25 Poll. Along with receiving votes, Upstate sits with a 63 RPI going into this week, with the closest Big South team being Longwood at 84.
Georgia is coming off a 2-1 series win on the road against Missouri. The Bulldogs started the series with a 4-3 win on Thursday only to fall 6-2 on Friday. UGA was able to take the series with a 3-1 win on Saturday. Georgia sits fifth in the SEC with a .600-win percentage, as well as being 35-9 overall with a .795-win percentage. UGA has faced some competitive teams so far this season including #4/4 Alabama (W, 5-3/ L, 9-3/ L, 9-0), #12/11 Tennessee (W, 8-2/ L, 11-5, W, 12-4), and #16/15 Clemson (W, 3-2).
Players to Watch:
USC Upstate (41-4, 15-3 Big South):
Summer Johnson continued her success from last week as she started all three games in the outfield and finished the week with four runs, five hits, seven RBI, and three home runs. She leads Upstate with a .405 batting average while having 25 runs, and 77 total bases on the season as well as a .636 slugging percentage.
#13 Georgia (35-9, 9-6 SEC)
Sara Mosley has been a significant factor for Georgia, as she has started 40 games for the Bulldogs. Mosley sits at the top of the Bulldog stats with 37 runs, 49 hits, 13 home runs, 40 RBI, and 98 total bases along with a .398 batting average and a .797 slugging percentage.
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Sparty's Ball and Auction:
Reserve your tickets for Sparty's Ball and Auction featuring The Andrews Brothers Dueling Pianos, Saturday, May 21, 2022 at upstatespartans.com/spartysball.
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