Bill English, Associate AD for Media Relations – USC Upstate
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate softball team opened the 2014 season in dominating fashion, recording an 8-0 victory over Eastern Michigan in the Upstate Classic at Cyrill Stadium.
Upstate (1-0) finished the game with eight runs on eight hits, ending the game in five innings against an EMU team that had claimed a 3-1 victory over Virginia earlier in the day.
“I thought we had an overall good game offensively and defensively. We came out swinging the bat aggressively. Hannah (Alexander) had really good command and Lexi (Shubert) came in and closed things out very well. That was a good way to start the season and we look forward to Saturday’s games.”
Aly Schneider transferred to Upstate to begin the spring semester. She didn’t take long to make her mark in a Spartan uniform, belting a solo home run to lead off the first inning and give Upstate a 1-0 lead. It set the tone for the Spartans in the inning and after an RBI-single by Shellie Robinson and a sacrifice fly from Cheyenne Griffin, Upstate opened a 3-0 lead.
Following a scoreless second inning, Meredith Barnes got the scoring going again for Upstate in the third with an RBI double which scored Dana Landers all the way from first. Barnes would later score on Griffin’s RBI single. Erin Schattle followed with a two-out, two-run single to left to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead.
Upstate added a run in the fourth on Robinson’s RBI single, setting up the opportunity to end the game early. Freshman Lexi Shubert took the circle in relief of Hannah Alexander, who tossed a near perfect outing. Alexander earned the win after going four strong innings. She surrendered just one hit and struck out eight. Shubert struck out two of the three batters she faced in the fifth to close out the game.
Schneider had a strong debut, finishing with two hits, two runs and an RBI. Robinson also finished with two hits to go along with two RBIs and a run. Griffin drove in a pair of runs, as did Schattle.
Upstate will face Youngstown State Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and Virginia at 2:30 p.m. as the Upstate Classic plays its second of three days.
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