Bill English, Associate AD for Media Relations – USC Upstate (Photo Courtesy of USC Upstate Athletics)
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team completed a weekend sweep, claiming a 7-1 victory over Towson and an 8-0 win over Virginia as starter Hannah Alexander tossed a perfect game to beat the Cavaliers in the final day of the Upstate Classic at Cyrill Stadium.
Alexander became just the third Upstate pitcher to ever toss a perfect game in the history of the program. She went five innings, striking out six to mark the accomplishment. She joins teammate Anna Miller, who tossed a five-inning perfect game against Jacksonville State in the NCAA Tournament last year, and Kristy Middagh, who threw a five-inning perfect game against North Greenville in 2002 in Upstate’s Division II era, as the only three players to toss a perfect game.
Upstate stands 5-0 and is scheduled to play at Furman in a non-conference doubleheader in Greenville on Wednesday, weather permitting. The Spartans will then host the Buffalo Wild Wings Spartan Invitational next weekend at Cyrill Stadium.
“I am so proud of Hannah and thrilled she finally got a no-hitter. To get it on a perfect game is really exciting,” said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. “She has been tremendous pitcher for us since she was a freshman and is off to a great start to the season. I am just so happy for her.
“This was a really good way to start the season. I thought we did a number of things well. We hit, we got really good pitching, we played well defensively and our dugout was into every game. We have things to work on, obviously, and we will continue to work hard to get better. But, this was a good start.”
Just as it had done in the previous three games of the season, Upstate jumped on top in the first inning of the game against Towson. Meredith Barnes and Cheyenne Griffin each picked up RBI singles to right center to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Upstate made it a 6-0 lead with four runs in the second inning. Kendall Settlemyre scored on a throwing error to start the scoring. Dana Landers, Shellie Robinson and Griffin each followed with RBI singles to finish the damage and give Upstate its six-run advantage.
Upstate made it a 7-0 lead in the third inning when Settlemyre smacked a single through the right side with runners on second and third, scoring Maddison Kieffer from second.
Towson’s Missy McCormick settled down and retired the last 11 batters she faced against Upstate. Towson got on the board in the sixth on a solo home run from Mo Hepner to cut the Upstate lead to 7-1.
Despite McCormick’s efforts, the seven runs scored by the Spartans in the first three innings were more than enough for freshman pitcher Lexi Shubert. Shubert allowed just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts to improve to 2-0 on the year with her second complete game effort.
Landers and Griffin each finished with two hits, while Griffin led Upstate with a pair of RBIs.
Upstate closed out the tournament against Virginia and Alexander made history when she tossed her first perfect game and no-hitter to down the Cavaliers and give the Spartans a 5-0 start to the season.
Landers started things off for Upstate, belting a liner over the wall in center for a solo home run to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the first. Upstate scored at least one run in the first inning of every game over weekend in the Upstate Classic.
Upstate struck in the second. After drawing a pair of walks to open the inning, Marcy Bowdren relieved starter Aimee Chapdelaine. Settlemyre singled to load the bases and Paris Prusak followed with an RBI single. After a pair of force outs at home gave the Spartans two outs, Landers connected on a two-run single to left to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead.
Upstate scored in the third straight inning to open the game, plating a run in the third. The Spartans loaded the bases with one out. After a force out at the plate gave Upstate two outs, Lindsay Kelly singled to drive in a run and give the Spartans a 5-0 lead. However, Bowdren got a ground out to limit the damage to just one run in the inning.
Upstate plated three runs in the fourth to open an 8-0 lead. After loading the bases, Landers scored on a wild pitch. Griffin followed with an RBI on a sacrifice fly and Maddison Kieffer drove in the third run on an RBI single through the right side.
Alexander came out in the top of the fifth looking for her elusive no-hitter. She got a strikeout, fly out and ground out to secure not only the no-hitter, but also the perfect game. She also improved to 3-0 on the year with the win. She struck out six Cavaliers along the way. She entered into the fifth having tossed six one-hitters in her career, flirting with both perfect games and no-no’s in the past. Sunday, she finally came through.
Landers led Upstate at the plate, finishing 2-for-2 with three RBIs and two runs. Kieffer and Settlemyre each collected two hits for the Spartans.
All-Tournament Team
Co-MVP (All-Tournament) – Hannah Alexander, Shellie Robinson
Upstate – Meredith Barnes, Dana Landers, Lexi Shubert
Towson – Hailey Balk, Mo Hepner, Missy McCormick
Eastern Michigan – Lindsay Rich
Youngstown State – Hailey Knight
Virginia – Marcy Bowdren
N.C. Central – Jenny Tracy
Upstate Classic Results & Schedule
Friday, February 7
Game 1 – Towson 7, Youngstown State 3
Game 2 – Eastern Michigan 3, Virginia 1
Game 3 – Upstate 8, Eastern Michigan 0 (5 inn.)
Game 4 – Virginia 8, N.C. Central 1
Saturday, February 8
Game 5 – Towson 8, Eastern Michigan 7 (9 inn.)
Game 6 – Upstate 12, Youngstown State 4 (5 inn.)
Game 7 – Upstate 6, Virginia 0
Game 8 – Eastern Michigan 2, N.C. Central 1 (8 inn.)
Game 9 – Youngstown State 6, N.C. Central 5
Sunday, February 9
Game 10 – Towson 18, N.C. Central 6
Game 11 – Upstate 7, Towson 1
Game 12 – Youngstown State 10, Virginia 2 (6 inn.)
Game 13 – Upstate 8, Virginia 0 (5 inn.)
