WEEKEND MATCH-UP
April 21, 2023 | 4:00 p.m. & 6:00 p.m.
April 22, 2023 | 2:00 p.m.
USC Upstate (31-15, 7-8 Big South) vs. Gardner-Webb (16-28, 5-7 Big South)
Brinkley Softball Stadium | Boiling Springs, N.C.
Live Stats: Game One | Game Two | Game Three
Watch: Game One | Game Two | Game Three
Overview:
The USC Upstate softball team heads to Boiling Springs to finish the week with a three-game series against the Gardner-Webb softball team with a spot in the Big South Tournament on the line. In their last time out, the Spartans fell to No. 11 ranked Georgia Bulldogs during a midweek showdown. Gardner-Webb took the midweek to rest after a tightly contested series with Campbell, but the Runnin' Bulldogs fell 6-5 to the Camels in game three after splitting Saturday's double-header.
The Spartans hold a significant edge in the series with the Runnin' Bulldogs, leading with 29-2 in the overall series with Gardner-Webb's. Upstate averages 6.58 runs per game against Gardner-Webb and won their last meeting 7-0. Gardner-Webb has found some recent success at the expense of the Spartans as their first two wins in the series came just last season.
Players to Watch:
USC Upstate: Designated hitter Peyton Darnell was able to extend her bases reached streak to eight games after being walked in the top of the seventh while Summer Johnson and Celeste Delorenzo brought their bases reached streaks to four games. Freshman pitcher Maddie Drerup continued her run of excellent play with a solid line against the Bulldogs. Once she entered the game in the top of the third, Georgia collected only three hits and one run off a solo home run in the sixth inning.
The Spartans continue to put in work to be ranked in the Big South in several statistical categories. Upstate and Campbell are the only two schools to have a batting average above 2.90 and are within two-thousandths of a percentage point of each other. In addition, the Spartans are still the only team with an ERA below 2.00, with a strong mark of 1.84.
Upstate still holds a strong presence in national statistics, sitting at sixth in stolen bases per game (2.70) and 12th in earned run average (1.84). Even though she was unable to add to her conference leading total, Denver Lauer ranks sixth in stolen bases with 33 and 10th in stolen bases per game with .72
Gardner-Webb: The biggest name to watch for the Runnin' Bulldogs is Andrea Lyons. Lyons leads the Big South with a remarkable 46 RBIs and has a .381 average to go along with her 25 free bases on the season. While being their top batter, Lyons is also Gardner-Webb's top pitcher with a team-low 3.58 ERA and 86 strikeouts over 113.1 innings. There is a significant drop off in production from Lyons to the next highest total of RBIs, but Adrienne Visintine has added a respectable 28 to the Bulldogs total.
Big South Standings
Campbell (11-3, 30-13)
Longwood (8-3, 21-16)
Winthrop (8-7, 26-18)
USC Upstate (7-8, 31-15)
Charleston Southern (6-8, 17-24)
Gardner-Webb (5-7, 16-28)
Presbyterian (4-7, 23-15)
Radford (3-9, 13-26)
UP Next for The Spartans
The Spartans will take some time to study and complete their finals next week and will resume action on May 5th and 6th in the final Big South series of the 2023 regular season. Upstate will host Presbyterian in the final three-game series and is set to honor its graduating players on May 6th.
Connect with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics
Twitter | @UpstateSoftball @UpstateSpartans
Instagram | @UpstateSoftball @UpstateSpartans
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
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