Sierra Maness
Sierra Maness Pitching Against S.C. State
0
SC State SCSTATE 10-25
8
Winner USC Upstate UPST 25-17
SC State SCSTATE
10-25
0
Final
8
USC Upstate UPST
25-17
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
SC State SCSTATE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
USC Upstate UPST 1 4 0 0 1 2 8 11 0

W: Maness, Sierra (13-8) L: Kenniyah Miller (1-1)

1
SC State SCSTATE 10-26
14
Winner USC Upstate UPST 26-17
SC State SCSTATE
10-26
1
Final
14
USC Upstate UPST
26-17
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
SC State SCSTATE 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 5
USC Upstate UPST 11 3 0 0 X 14 9 0

W: Kelly, Alyssa (5-2) L: Ciara Farrar (1-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Doubleheader Against S.C. State See's 22 Total Runs and Upstate Softball's First Perfect Game Since 2019

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate softball finished its week undefeated as the Spartans swept the Bulldogs of South Carolina State in Wednesday afternoon's doubleheader. Game one of the day saw freshman pitcher Sierra Maness throw Upstate softball's fifth perfect game in its Division I era while game two saw the Spartans collect their third win of the season scoring 14 runs.  

Upstate began the day in historic fashion as the Spartans tallied eight runs, while Maness refused to surrender a single hit, run, or walk to the Bulldogs. The Spartans' first perfect game since 2019 saw eight unanswered runs scored by five Spartans, two of which had multiple runs game one. Alanna Deal, Abby Polk, and Abigail Pippen all scored one run while Amie Johnson (2) and Denver Lauer (3) came home on multiple occasions. In addition to her three runs, Lauer also had multiple hits (2) while Taliyah Thomas lead the team in hits with three. The 8-0 shutout finish was the 12th time in the 17-game series that Upstate was able to completely shut down S.C. State's offense and the first ever perfect game the Spartans have thrown against the Bulldogs. Maness made her 22nd start of the season in game one of the doubleheader against the Bulldogs and had six strikeouts in her first career perfect game. 

Game two of the doubleheader saw the lone run for S.C. State in the top of the first inning before Upstate responded with 11 runs in the first inning alone. Lauer scored two of her three runs in game two in the first inning while Thomas and Deal also tallied their two runs in the first. Amie Johnson scored one run in the first and one run in the second to help Upstate with a 14-1 win. Thomas, Pippen, and Johnson all had two RBI while Delorenzo led the team for RBI in game two with three. Maddie Drerup made her 16th game start of the season and had two strikeouts in her 2.0 innings pitched. Alyssa Kelly made her 14th game appearance as she relieved Drerup in the third inning and had three strikeouts in 2.0 innings pitched. Kamila Vicente made her second appearance of the season as she relieved Kelly in the top of the fifth and had one strikeout in her 1.0 innings pitched.  

Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 8; S.C. State 0 
Records: USC Upstate (25-17; 12-3 Big South) vs. S.C. State (10-25; 7-11 MEAC)  
Location: Cyrill Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.        
 
How It Happened 

  • B1: Denver Lauer got the Spartans on the board in game one as Alanna Deal dinged a single to center field just before stealing second base. (1-0). 

  • B2: Abby Polk scored the first run of the second inning thanks to a double down the left field line from Abigail Pippen (2-0). 

  • B2: Pippen came sprinting home for Upstate's third run of the game as Amie Johnson sent a single deep into left center (3-0). 

  • B2: Johnson reached home as S.C. State's second baseman was charged with a throwing error as she tried to get Lauer out at first (4-0). 

  • B2: Lauer came home for the second time in game one as Taliyah Thomas sent a single to the Bulldogs' short stop (5-0). 

  • B5: Polk's single extended the Spartans' lead to six runs as Deal was able to come home from second (6-0).  

  • B6: With her third hit of the day, Thomas scored Amie Johnson while she reached first off a hit to the shortstop (7-0).  

  • B6: After scoring the first run of the day, Lauer scored the final run of game one thanks to an error by the third baseman (8-0).  

Game Information 
Score: USC Upstate 14; S.C. State 1 
Records: USC Upstate (26-17; 10-2 Big South) vs. S.C. State (10-26; 7-11 MEAC)  
Location: Cyrill Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.        
 
How It Happened 

  • T1: The Bulldogs scored their lone run of the day after Ames' single up the middle scored Boyd (1-0). 

  • B1: Lauer once again got Upstate's offense started as she scored her first run of the inning off an error by the Bulldogs pitcher which also allowed Thomas to reach second (1-1).  

  • B1: After an error by the catcher, Thomas was advanced to third before coming all the way home and taking the lead for Upstate off Delorenzo's ground out to second (2-1). 

  • B1: With the bases loaded, Abby Polk took a hard pitch to the helmet to advance all runners on base including sending Deal all the way home (3-1). 

  • B1: As three Spartans waited on base, designated player Olivia Hall was walked to first and in turn Abigail Pippen came home (4-1). 

  • B1: Amie Johnson brought in two more runs for Upstate as her single down the left field line was enough to advance both Polk and Norris home (6-1). 

  • B1: Hall was sent home to extend Upstate's lead to six-runs courtesy of Lauer's single up the middle.  

  • B1: Johnson scored her third run of the day as Delorenzo grounded out to the second baseman for the second out of the inning (8-1). 

  • B1: Lauer scored the ninth run of the inning for Upstate as Deal reached first and Thomas advanced to third off an error by the S.C. State short stop (9-1).  

  • B1: Deal and Thomas came home for the final two runs of the first inning as Pippen hit a double deep into left center (11-1). 

  • B2: Johnson took off in an attempt to steal second which triggered pinch runner Katie Henri to take off to steal home. The Bulldogs' catcher was called for interference resulting in a scored run for Henri (12-1). 

  • B2: Johnson came home shortly after as Thomas hit a sacrificed fly our to center field (13-1). 

  • B2: Lauer scored the final game of the day as she safely reached home off Delorenzo's single to center field (14-1). 
     

Notable 

  • Abby Polk extends her reached base streak to eight, her longest of the season, while Taliyah Thomas and Alanna Deal both sit with a six-game reached base streak.  

  • Thomas is currently on a six-game hitting streak, her longest of the season, while Denver Lauer is also on a five-game hitting streak.  

  • With her three RBI in game two, Delorenzo now has nine multi-RBI games this season.  

  • Denver Lauer continues to lead the team in multi-hit games with 11 while Taliyah Thomas has eight, Cassie Norris has seven, and Amie Johnson has five.  

  • Game one of the doubleheader saw Upstate steal 10 bases, the second most this season.  

Up Next for the Spartans  

The Spartans will be back in action next week to take on South Carolina (Wed.) and Winthrop (Sat. & Sun.) for the final week of the regular season. 

 
Tickets on Sale for Sparty's Ball – Saturday, May 18  
Support USC Upstate Athletics at Sparty's Ball, the largest fundraiser of the year for the Upstate Athletic Fund. The UAF impacts current and future generations of Spartans, developing champions on the field, building scholars in the classroom, and preparing leaders for life. Presented by the Sports Medicine Institute, a division of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Sparty's Ball features live and silent auction items, delicious food from Cribbs Catering, beverages, and live entertainment from Under the Sun, and held at a new location, Indigo Hall in downtown Spartanburg. Come dressed in your Spartan best—cocktail attire is required. For details and tickets, log onto www.upstatespartans.com/spartysball.  
 
Connect with the Spartans      
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics      
X | @UpstateSoftball @UpstateSpartans      
Instagram | @UpstateSoftball @UpstateSpartans      
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans   

Print Friendly Version