No. 2 USC Upstate Walks Off Against No. 4 Radford, Advances to Title Game
Big South Freshman of the Year Bre Cooper (Massillon, Ohio) came through with the hit of the season on Friday afternoon as the Spartans knocked off Radford 1-0 in the elimination game to move on to Championship Saturday.
USC Upstate went 1-1 on the day in the Big South Tournament, in the first game of the afternoon the Spartans fell 2-0 to top seeded Campbell. The loss forced the Spartans into an elimination game against the Highlanders. With the Spartans 1-0 win over Radford, USC Upstate now advances to the Championship game on Saturday afternoon against Campbell. If the Spartans win the first game, they will force a winner take all second game against the Camels.
In the first inning against the Camels, the Spartans found themselves in a bit of a jam with two outs in the inning. With the bases loaded and two outs in the inning, Savannah Brown (Mint Hill, N.C.) got Kayla Fredendall to fly out to center field and end the scoring threat for Campbell in the first.
A pitchers dual then broke out between the two sides for the next three innings of action. In the top of the fifth inning, the Spartans began to put a few at bats together. Celeste Delorenzo (Ormond Beach, Fla.) singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice from Marissa Soterakis (Miramar, Fla.).
Hallie Mele (Denver, N.C.) came into the game to pinch hit for Dezi Williams (Old Fort, N.C.) and was plunked by a pitch. Delorenzo advanced to third on a wild pitch and Williams re-entered the game as a runner. Williams stole second and Sarah Price (Landrum, S.C.) drew a walk to load the bases for the Spartans. Madison Lanoux (Fleming Island, Fla.) hit the ball towards the third base line, but the Camels left fielder stole a run a away from the Spartans.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Campbell bats started to come alive. Bri Bryant drew a one out walk and stole second to move into scoring position. Destini England doubled to bring in the first run of the game for either side. With two outs in the inning Claire Blount hit an RBI double to bring in England from second.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Spartans attempted a last second rally. Delorenzo singled to start the inning and advanced to second on a Soterakis walk. Alexa Sanchez (Miami, Fla.) pinch hit and singled to load the bases. Price then hit into an unassisted double play that resulted in Sanchez getting out at first. Lanoux grounded out to third base to end the game for the Spartans.
In the elimination game against Radford, the fans were treated to a pitchers dual between Mallie Brown (Stockbridge, Ga.) and Jessie Marvin. Neither team recorded a hit until the top of the fifth inning, when Abby Wilson singled off of Brown.
The Spartans recorded their first hit of game in the bottom of the fifth, when Soterakis laced a ball through the infield. Unfortunately, Soterakis was thrown out attempting to stretch a single into a double.
In the top of the sixth, Sydney Fisher began the inning with a leadoff double. A sacrifice bunt from Riley Oakes moved Fisher over to third base. The Spartans stayed calm under pressure as they recorded the next two outs of the inning. The momentum seemed to carry over into the bottom half of the inning, as Priced singled with one out. A sacrifice bunt from Lanoux moved Price into scoring position. Tiffany Domingue (York, S.C.) hit a rocket of a shot deep into the left center field gap but the ball was caught just a few inches from going over the wall.
Following a three up-three down inning for the Spartans in the top half of the seventh, the Spartans bats came alive in the bottom half. Peyton Darnell (Fort Mill, S.C.) singled to start the inning and Olive Marshall (Mooresville, N.C.) came into the game to pinch run. Savannah Grigsby (Elgin, S.C.) reached on a fielder’s choice and Marshall slid safely into second base following an error. Delorenzo grounded out third base but moved both runners up. Cooper came to the plate and smashed a ground ball past the third baseman to score the winning run for the Spartans.