Feb. 23, 2008

Stony Brook Box Score
Kent State Box Score

Charlotte, N.C. - Courtney Feldon connected on two home runs and collected four RBIs to lead Upstate to an 8-2 win over Stony Brook in game one of the First Pitch Classic Saturday at Charlotte. Kent State scored four runs in the sixth inning to open up a close game and went on for an 8-3 victory over the Spartans in Upstate's second game.

Upstate is 6-2 on the year. The Spartans will play Kent State Sunday morning at 11:30 and will wrap up the tournament against the host Charlotte 49ers Sunday afternoon at 3:30.

"So far early in the season we have seen different players step up for us," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "It's been a mixture of our veterans and our freshmen. Today, Courtney (Feldon) really delivered for us. Not only did she have an outstanding game against Stony Brook, but she played well against Kent State."

In the Stony Brook game, Upstate fell behind after Stony Brook scored two runs in the top of the second inning. Molly Kestranek singled in a run and Katleyn O'Donnell plated a run on a sacrifice fly to give Stony Brook a 2-0 lead.

The lead would be brief, though, for the Seawolves. Upstate took control of the game with five runs in the bottom of the second. Feldon hit her first home run of the game with a runner on as Upstate tied the game at 2-2. Sasha Stepaniuk's double drove in Amber Patterson with the eventual game-winning run. Shay Slater drove in a run on a squeeze and Katie Adams singled in a run to give Upstate a 5-2 lead.

The lead grew to 6-2 in the third inning when Feldon connected with a solo homer, her second of the game. Upstate added two runs on RBI singles from Flores and Feldon in the fifth inning to give the Spartans an 8-2 advantage.

The lead would be all that Upstate starter Morgan Childers would need. After giving up the two early runs, Childers settled down. She allowed just three hits after the second inning and finished the game with six strikeouts to improve to 5-0 on the year.

Feldon finished the game 3-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs to lead Upstate at the plate. Adams also finished with three hits, while Flores and Patterson each collected two on the day.

In the Kent State game, Kent State took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Upstate tied the game in the third inning when Lauren Quevedo led off the inning with a solo home run.

Kent State scored two runs in the fourth inning on RBI hits by Ashlee Hein and Heather Duhon. Upstate again answered, tying the game with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Feldon collected an RBI hit and Gibbs scored from third on a wild pitch to tie the game at 3-3.

Corey Houck hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to give Kent State a 4-3 lead and the Golden Flashes would not give up the league. Still leading by one, Kent State blew open the game with four runs in the sixth inning to take an 8-3 lead. Upstate could not manage to cut into the lead the rest of the game.

Duhon finished the game with three hits to lead Kent State at the plate. Reynolds went the distance for Kent State to pick up the win. Brittany Rice (1-2) took the loss for the Spartans.