SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate softball started its final Big South series of the regular season with a bang after beating the Presbyterian Blue Hose with back-to-back shutouts on Friday afternoon. Both Alyssa Kelly and Maddie Drerup each picked up a win while Denver Lauer, Sarah Price, and Cassie Norris all hit one out of Cyrill Stadium to help Upstate post a combined 12 unanswered runs.  

Game One had a slow start as both the Spartans and the Blue Hose went scoreless through three complete innings. Upstate found a way to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth as a two-RBI homerun from Cassie Norris opened the flood gates for what would finish to be an 8-0 game. Sarah Price gave Upstate the 3-0 lead moving into the fourth as her sacrificed fly scored Alanna Deal. Norris again helped the Spartans get on the board as she reached first on a fielder's choice and sent Aime Johnson running home in the bottom of the fifth. Deal's sacrificed fly sent Summer Johnson home just before Denver Lauer's single to right center scored Delorenzo to make the game 6-0 after five complete innings. Pinch runner, Morgan Langley scored her first career run in the bottom of the sixth to bring Upstate one run closer to finishing game one. Deal would secure the first shutout of the day as her sacrificed bunt gave Delorenzo her second run of the day. Delorenzo went 2-2 in game one with two runs and one RBI while Summer Johnson went 3-2 with two runs and Lauer went 2-2 with one RBI and two stolen bases.   

Using their momentum from game one, the Spartans got an early lead over the Blue Hose. Lauer kicked things off with her second lead off solo homerun of the season. Price followed Lauer's homerun with one of her own over the left field wall. After both teams went scoreless through the second inning, it was Upstate that was able to post another two runs in the bottom of the third to make the game 4-0. The Spartans were able to not only maintain their lead through the remaining four innings but kept the Blue Hose from scoring a single run. Lauer went 3-3 in game two with two runs, one RBI, and three stolen bases while Price went 1-2 with two runs, two RBI, and one sacrificed hit.  

Alyssa Kelly made her 28th start of the season in game one and threw four strikeouts in her 20th complete game to earn not only her 18th win, but also her seventh shutout of the season. Maddie Drerup made her 22nd start of the season in game two and threw five strikeouts in her 14th complete game to earn not only her 17th win, but also her fifth shutout of the season.  

Game One    
Score: USC Upstate 8; Presbyterian 0 

Record: USC Upstate (35-15, 11-8 Big South) vs. Presbyterian (25-20, 6-12 Big South)  
Location: Cyrill Softball Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.    

How it Happened: 

B4: Cassie Norris sent a homerun over the left field wall bringing Sumer Johnson home with her.  

B4: Sarah Price hit a sacrificed fly out to left field which allowed Alanna Deal to get home.  

B5: Norris was able to reach first off a fielder's choice and not only advanced Celeste Delorenzo to second and Summer Johnson to third, but also helped pinch runner Aime Johnson reach home safely. 

B5: Deal then helped Summer Johnson advance home from third with a sacrificed fly out to left field.  

B5: Denver Lauer sent a single to right center to advance Price to second, Lanoux to third and Delorenzo home.  

B6: Delorenzo hit a single which advanced pinch runner Morgan Langley to third. Langley was able to reach home safely as an error from Presbyterian's first baseman provided enough time.   

B6: Deal finished the game in the sixth inning with a sacrificed bunt that provided enough time for Delorenzo to get home.   

Game Two 
Score: USC Upstate 4; Presbyterian 0 

Record: USC Upstate (36-15, 12-8 Big South) vs. Presbyterian (25-21, 6-13 Big South)  
Location: Cyrill Softball Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.    

How it Happened: 

B1: Lauer launched a lead off solo homerun over the center field wall.  

B1: Price followed Lauer's lead off solo homerun with a solo homerun over the left field wall.  

B3: A sacrificed bunt from Price sent Lauer home for the second time to make the game 3-0. 

B3: Price scored the final run for Upstate as she reached home safely off a Darnell double to right center.  

Notable                

• Her homerun in the bottom of the fourth was the fourth homerun Cassie Norris has hit this season.  

• Her homerun in the bottom of the first in game two was the fifth homerun Denver Lauer has hit this season. 

• Her homerun in the bottom of the first in game two was the second homerun Sarah Price has hit this season. 

• Morgan Langley scored her first career run in game one as well as recording her first career stolen base.  

• Alyssa Kelly has now surpassed her career high for wins in a single season (18) with her previous high being 17 wins, set back in the 2022 season.  

• Lauer now has 40 stolen bases on the season.  

• The last time Upstate had back-to-back shutout wins was against Charleston Southern Mar. 18 & 19 (4-0, 9-0). 

Up Next for the Spartans 

Upstate will finish the series on Saturday afternoon before holding a celebration for the seniors who graduated this week. The Spartans will then prepare for the 2023 Big South Softball Championship set for May 11th-13th in Radford, Va.    

      
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