ROCK HILL, S.C. - Taking the field for Day two of the Coach Cooke Memorial Tournament, Upstate Softball battled through their final two games with wins over Southern Indiana and Youngstown State.
Game One vs. Southern Indiana (4-1, Win)
The action picked up in the bottom of the second inning with Sophia Kardatzke leading off with a single to left field and followed with stealing second base. A groundout with Carson Shaw took the attention away from Kardatzke advancing her closer to scoring position. Alanna Deal followed with a single to right field driving a run in putting the Spartans ahead for the first run. With Deal stealing second and advancing to third from a passed ball, Abby Polk's single to left field secured their second run of the inning. In the circle, Sierra Maness showed grit with battling with runners on base resulting in two groundouts and retiring the final batter to keep the Screaming Eagles scoreless. The bottom of the fifth intensified the momentum for Upstate with Georgia Preddy getting on base from a walk and Taliyah Thomas following with a single to left field. Denver Lauer followed with an RBI single advancing Preddy home for the third run and setting up another scoring opportunity with two outs on the board. Abigail Pippen's single up the middle helped Taliyah Thomas make her way to home plate for a four run lead. Southern Indiana looked to one last comeback effort with walk and a single through the left side getting two runners on. Two consecutive groundouts advanced runners with the second groundout scoring a run. One last out in the infield held off the Screaming Eagles with Upstate winning with a final score of 4-1.
Game Two vs. Youngstown State (8-3, Win)
Upstate rang in the top of the second inning with Alanna Deal and Abby Polk opening with back to back infield hits. The game shifted with a walk from Georgia Preddy and Taliyah Thomas resulting in the first run due to bases loaded. Denver Lauer stretched the lead to four with a three-RBI double to right center sending Thomas, Preddy and Polk to home plate. Youngstown State remained cold through the first two innings with zero hits holding off the response to Upstate. The Spartans opened the top of the third with Sophia Kardatzke adding an infield single and stealing second to get in scoring position. The Spartans tacked on two more runs with a RBI single from Alanna Deal and a groundout scoring Emily Stern. The Penguins were able to get into the scoring column with a wild pitch and an RBI single cutting the Spartan lead to four. Continuing the hot streak, Taliyah Thomas was walked to first base to set the stage for the following batter. Denver Lauer followed with a two-run home stretching the lead 8-2. Youngstown State looked to creep back into the game with a solo home run to cut into the lead but the Spartans were able to hold any other runs to win 8-3.
Notable
Up Next for the Spartans
Upstate Softball returns to the Hawkins Field at Cyrill Stadium for a quick trip home with an afternoon clash in the Palmetto State against the College of Charleston Tuesday, March 4th starting at 3:00 P.M.
SAVE THE DATE FOR SPARTY'S BALL – MAY 17th – Support USC Upstate Athletics at Sparty's Ball, the largest fundraising event of the year for the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF), to be held Saturday, May 17, 2025 at the Milliken Club at Fifth Third Park. For tickets, sponsorship and auction information, click here!
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