USC Upstate (47-8, 21-6 Big South) vs. Charleston Southern (27-26, 12-13 Big South)
Mar. 12 | 11:00 a.m.
*Note all games are subject to change due to inclement weather
Big South Championship: All Big South Softball Championship information can be found here:
Live Stats: Live stats will be available for all contests this week and can be accessed through upstatespartans.com.
Watch: All Big South Championship games will be streamed via ESPN+.
Game One: Game 1 Winner vs. South Carolina Upstate (Game 4) (Softball) | Watch ESPN
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After sweeping Presbyterian in a double-header last Friday, Upstate will enter the Big South Conference Championship as the No.1 seed and will face the No.5 seed Charleston Southern in the second round of play on Thursday afternoon.
Upstate downed the Blue Hose 6-3 in game one and 8-3 in game two to clinch the regular season championship and secure the No.1 seed. Hannah Houge pitched 7.0 innings in game one and relieved Alyssa Kelly in game two, throwing 2.0 innings. Houge had a combined 15 strikeouts on the day and walked off with her first save of the season. Summer Johnson and Bella Bertot sported home runs on Friday while Celeste Delorenzo, Sarah Price, and Tiffany Domingue all recorded multi-hit games. Game three was a battle to the end with four lead changes in the game. Despite the valiant effort, the Spartans would drop game three 6-4.
Following the final regular season series, Upstate garnered several Big South Conference honors. Peyton Darnell claimed the Big South Player of the Year while head coach Chris Hawkins was named the Big South Coach of the Year. Darnell solidified a spot on the All-Conference First Team and was joined by Hannah Houge, Tiffany Domingue, Summer Johnson, and Sarah Price. Price was also named to the All-Academic team for her stellar 3.907 GPA while studying secondary education. Casey Goguts and Celeste Delorenzo capped off the Big South honors, earning their spots on the All-Conference Second Team.
Houge retained national rankings following last week's performances. She still sits second-place nationally for victories (28) and for shutouts (15), along with being one of six pitchers in the nation to achieve double-digit shutouts for the season. Houge is also ranked sixth for strikeouts (277), 10th for innings pitched (195.2), 22nd for strikeouts/ 7.0 innings pitched (9.9) 27th for ERA (1.57), and 37th for hits/ 7.0 innings pitched (4.51).
Kelly joins Houge in national rankings as she is ranked 17th in walks/7.0 innings pitched (0.99), 22nd for shutouts (7), 28th for strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.95), and 47th in ERA (1.73). Peyton Darnell is nationally ranked sixth for RBI (62), 13th for RBI/game (1.13), 40th for home runs (15), and 62nd for total bases (106). Sarah Price is ranked eighth for stolen bases (37), 15th for stolen bases/game (.67), and 52nd for the toughest to strikeout (17.3). Summer Johnson also holds a spot in the national rankings coming in at 57th for the toughest to strikeout (17.0) as did Marisa Soterakis at sixth for sacrifice bunts per game (.27).
Upstate sits with several national rankings, with their highest ranking being third for shutouts (23), along with fourth for win-loss percentage (.855), ninth for fielding percentage (.979), 10th for ERA (1.82), 10th for stolen bases per game (2.33), 11th for strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.47), 10th for doubles (85), and 18th for batting average (.319)
Charleston Southern is coming off a 3-1 win over No.4 seed Presbyterian in round one of the Big South Softball Championship. Upstate faced off with CSU in mid-April and took the series 2-1 at home. CSU got the jump on the Spartans with a 16-0 win in game one but Upstate rallied back with a 10-2 and a 9-0 win in the double-header the following day.
Amongst Big South competitors, Upstate leads for batting (.319), pitching (1.82), and fielding (.979). Summer Johnson (.418) leads the Big South in hitting while Tiffany Domingue (4th, .373) Peyton Darnell also sits in the top ten (8th, .349). Hannah Houge leads the Big South for pitching with a 1.77 ERA while Alyssa Kelly sits third with a 1.73 ERA. Mady Lanoux continues to lead the conference in fielding with a 1.000 fielding percentage, while Casey Goguts sits in the top ten as well (8th).
Players to Watch:
USC Upstate (47-8, 21-6 Big South):
Summer Johnson hit her stride in the back half of the season. Johnson leads Upstate with a .418 batting average as well as 28 runs, 64 hits, eight home runs, 36 RBI and 97 total bases. She is riding a seven-game reached base and hitting streak. Johnson also has earned 18 multi-hit games this season.
Charleston Southern (27-26, 12-13 Big South):
The three Bucs' runs in round one were credited to Ashley Meckley, Raleigh Lewis, and Seaenna Satcher. Raleigh sits near the top of the Bucs' batters with a .341 batting average, 14 runs, 52 hits, six home runs, 30 RBI, 70 total bases and a .569 slugging percentage.
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Sparty's Ball and Auction:
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