April 8, 2008

Box Score

Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate's Lauren Quevedo belted a walk-off homer to give the Spartans a 7-6 victory in game two and doubleheader sweep of Furman in non-conference softball action Tuesday evening at Cyrill Stadium. The Spartans took game one, 2-0.

The losses drop Furman to 17-19 on the season while USC Upstate improves to 25-12.

Furman led game two 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth when Tiffany Pitcher opened the frame with a single and Ana Mitchell followed with a double to put runners at second and third with nobody out against Paladin reliever Lana Mackey. Leadoff hitter Kim Brasil delivered a two-run double with one out in the inning to knot the game at 6-6.

After Spartan reliever Morgan Childers set down the Paladins in the top of the seventh, Quevedo blasted the game-winning homer to right-center to give the Spartans their 25th victory of the season. Childers (20-5) picked up her second win of the day working three scoreless innings and striking out five.

USC Upstate opened a 3-0 lead before an RBI single from Abby Robertson and RBI ground out from Morgan Hughey pulled Furman within a run in the third inning. Trailing 4-2 in the fifth, the Paladins grabbed the lead with four runs. Stephanie Cushing opened the frame with a single and advanced to second when Robertson was hit by a pitch. Brythe Blankenship followed with a single to score Cushing. Mackey delivered a sacrifice fly to tie the game and Bethany Ullrich and Meredith Mielke reached on infield singles to plate two more Paladin runs.

Lana Mackey (12-15) suffered her second defeat of the day allowing three earned runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings of relief. Mitchell and Brasil each totaled a pair of RBI for the Spartans while Quevedo, Vanesa Flores and Pitcher each registered two hits apiece. Mielke and Cushing each tallied two hits for Furman.

In game one, Childers limited Furman to just three hits while tossing a complete game shutout and striking out 14 batters in a 2-0 Spartan win.

Quevedo and Courtney Feldon, who had a pair of hits, drove in the runs for the Spartans. Katie Michaels notched two of Furman's three hits. Mackey suffered the loss allowing two runs on five hits while fanning seven.

Furman, winners of five straight league games, opens a 10-game homestand when it hosts Appalachian State in a three-game Southern Conference series Saturday and Sunday at Pepsi Stadium. Saturday's doubleheader is set to begin at 1 p.m. while Sunday's series final is also set for 1 p.m.