SPARTANBURG, S.C. - With poor weather quickly approaching, USC Upstate softball had to advance its series with the Winthrop Eagles to Thursday night which finished with the Spartans being dealt two conference losses. Despite a minor lead in game one, the Spartans came up short in game one by just a one-run margin and finished the double-header with a 2-0 loss in game two. 

In game one, Upstate drew first blood with an RBI double from Summer Johnson that brought Tiffany Domingue home from first base after she was walked by Winthrop's pitcher. Both teams sat scoreless through the next five innings. The Eagles were able to make a few connections but continuously was shutdown by the Spartans' defense. It wasn't until the top of the seventh inning that Winthrop was able to get on the board. With three on base, a single from Winthrop was enough to get two runs in and force the Spartans to fall in game one. Alyssa Kelly notched her 22nd start of the season and had 10 strikeouts in her 17th complete game of the season. 

Game two came with its own challenges as Winthrop picked up an early run in the top of the first inning and stacked another in the second. Upstate trailed the remainder of the game despite having runners on base for five out of the seven innings. Casey Goguts, Peyton Darnell, and Denver Lauer were all able to tally and hit in game two; Lauer was able to walk away with yet another stolen base to add to her season total. Maddie Drerup made her 17th start of the season and had four strikeouts in what was her ninth complete game of the year. 

Game One -   

Score: USC Upstate 1; Winthrop 2  

Records: USC Upstate (28-11, 4-6 Big South) vs. Winthrop (24-15, 6-4 Big South)  

Location: Cyrill Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.   

How it Happened 

T1 – Alyssa Kelly earned her 22nd start of the season. The veteran pitcher escaped a bases-loaded jam with two outs with her second strikeout of the inning.  

B1 – Tiffany Domingue walked to first before a Casey Goguts strikeout brought Summer Johnson to the plate. Johnson launched a shot into left field to bring Domingue home. The 1-0 lead would last the Spartans through the seventh inning.  

T3 – With an Eagle at first, Macy McCall hit a shot right back to Alyssa Kelly. Thanks to fast hands, Kelly turned a double play for the first two outs of the inning. A groundout to the shortstop would end the at bat for the Eagles.  

T7 – Bases were loaded due to the only error of the day on the Spartans. A single from KaDedra Temple brought in two Eagle runners and gave Winthrop the lead. Kelly would proceed to catch the next three Winthrop batters swinging to end the inning. Kelly ended the game with ten strikeouts, her most in a game since having eight against Charleston-Southern.  

B7 – After being hit by the pitch, Celeste Delorenzo was replaced at first by Taliyah Thomas. Thomas stole second during Maddie Lanoux's at bat to give the Spartans a chance, but Lanoux was struck out for the final out of the game.  

Game Two -  

Score: USC Upstate 0; Winthrop 2 

Records: USC Upstate (28-12, 4-7 Big South) vs. Winthrop (25-15, 7-4 Big South)  

Location: Cyrill Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C. 

How it Happened 

T1 – Maddie Drerup found herself in a similar situation to Alyssa Kelly's in the first inning of game one. With bases loaded and an out to give, Winthrop's Ella McGalliard hit a sac-fly to right field, bringing home the first run of the day and giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead. A subsequent popup to third base would end the half-inning.  

T2 – With nothing doing for the Spartans in the first, Winthrop took the opportunity to add to their lead. A walk and a stolen base placed Lilly Stump on second, but a sac-bunt advanced her to third. A single to left field from the next batter sent Stump home and the Eagles earned a 2-0 lead. That would be the end of the scoring for the day. 

B4 – Denver Lauer earned one of three hits for the Spartans on the day. Her single up the middle set up an opportunity for Lauer to steal second. She was able to show off the wheels yet again and is now 27 of 28 stealing on the year.  

B7 – Looking for a spark to put the Spartans ahead, Carson Shaw and Darbie Lisk entered the game as pinch runners. Unfortunately, neither were able to make contact and the Spartans were shut out for just the third time this season. 

Notable:  

• Darbie Lisk saw her first action of the season as she pinch hit in the bottom of the seventh in game two in substitution for Mady Lanoux. 
• Alyssa Kelly's 120 pitches in game one and her 10 strikeouts were both career highs. She has thrown over 100 pitches over her last four starts, a streak dating back to the 8-2 win against Longwood. The combined 242 pitches thrown by both team's pitchers was the most in a game Upstate has played this season.  

• Maddie Drerup has back-to-back starts throwing more than 100 pitches and back-to-back games with four strikeouts, the longest streak of her young career. The 116 pitches thrown against Winthrop are a career high.  

• Denver Lauer has stolen twelve bases in a row without being caught. She was last caught against Stetson in a 1-0 loss. Lauer is 27 of 28 on stealing bases (.964%) 

• The Spartans have been shutout three times this season. Each shutout loss was followed by a shutout win of their own (1-0 loss to Northern Illinois, 3-0 win over Kansas; 1-0 loss to Stetson, 8-0 win over SC State; 2-0 loss to Winthrop.) 

Up Next for the Spartans 

The Spartans hit the road again next Tuesday for a midweek single with the NC State Wolfpack with the first pitch scheduled for 5:00 P.M. 

Connect with the Spartans                    
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics                   
Twitter | @UpstateSoftball @UpstateSpartans                   
Instagram | @UpstateSoftball @UpstateSpartans                   
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans   

Make a difference in the lives of USC Upstate student-athletes!  Donate to the USC Upstate U Club today!