#3 USC Upstate Defeats #2 Longwood, 12-3
By USC Upstate Athletics
CLINTON, S.C. - Opening the Big South Softball Championships, USC Upstate Softball took the field against Longwood in a regular season finale rematch where the Spartans fired away with a 12-3 victory over the Lancers.
The top of the first inning displayed the perfect start with a lead off walk with Denver Lauer making her way to first. Sophia Kardatzke saw the green light at the plate with a two-run homer to left field putting Upstate ahead 2-0. The Spartans continued their hot start with Abigail Pippen following with a solo homerun to left field giving Upstate the early advantage. Longwood looked respond in the bottom of the inning adding two hits and loading the bases, but Upstate's defense escaped the inning leaving three runners stranded.
The Spartans continued to put the Lancers in a bind with Emily Stern reaching first to beat the throw followed by her sprinting to second throwing error by the catcher. With a runner in scoring position, Liza Simmerson's groundout to first took the attention away from third driving in another run. Maddie Drerup entered the bottom of the second inning striking out a batter followed by Abigail Pippen connecting with Abby Polk to catch a runner stealing second.
With Sophia Kardatzke already 1-for-1 at bat, the Co-Freshman of the year decided she was not done smacking her second two-run bomb to left field extending the Spartan lead to 6-0. With Riley Vogel and Abby Polk on base, Emily Stern continued to make her presence felt at the DP spot with a sacrifice bunt advancing Vogel home along with moving to third. A throwing error on the following batter helped Abby Polk take advantage stealing home. Upstate added their fifth run of the inning with Liza Simmerson adding a base hit to second base helping Amie Johnson advance to third then find her way home from a throwing error.
Longwood responded in the bottom of the inning adding three runs on two hits and a groundout to trail 9-3. As the game continued to push their way through, the offense did not go away in the seventh inning as Amie Johnson doubled to left field advancing Abby Polk home for a 10-3 lead. The Spartans added the final two runs with Emily Stern taking advantage of a passed ball from the catcher and Denver Lauer's RBI single to center field to win 12-3.
Kardatzke went 2-for-3 at the plate with both of her hits being two-run homers to left field adding a four-RBI Day. Amie Johnson added another multi-hit game going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
In the circle, Drerup pitched a complete game striking out five batters for her 13th win of the season.
Following the win against Longwood, Upstate Softball stays in the winner's bracket and will take the field for a Friday afternoon matchup against the winner of the Radford vs. Winthrop game at 12:00 P.M. EST.