March 23, 2008
Complete Upstate vs. ETSU Game Notes in PDF Format 
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate plays host to East Tennessee State Monday evening at Cyrill Stadium, marking the third consecutive A-Sun doubleheader for the Spartans. Upstate enters the games with a 16-7 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the A-Sun. ETSU is 13-17 overall and 2-2 in the league. The doubleheader will be offered on ASun.TV. For ordering information, please visit www.asun.tv/uscupstate. Fans can get live statistical updates using Gametracker via the official Upstate Athletics website at www.upstatespartans.com.
Recapping Kennesaw State
Two teams who were once rivals in Division II's Peach Belt Conference met for the first time as A-Sun rivals as Upstate and Kennesaw State split a pair of 2-1 decisions Friday at Cyrill Stadium.
The matchup was featured as the A-Sun Game of the Week and lived up to the billing. In a marquee pitching matchup between Upstate's standout freshman Morgan Childers and last year's A-Sun Pitcher of the Year Brittany Matthews, Childers came out on top with the 2-1 victory in game one. She struck out 15 batters en route to her 13th win of the season. Heidi Gibbs collected an RBI and Shay Slater scored the eventual game-winning run after a throwing error by the Owls.
Matthews got her revenge in the second game. Upstate's starter Brittany Rice was solid in the circle, giving up one unearned run on three hits in five innings before being lifted in the sixth for Childers. Kennesaw starter Jessica Cross was also strong, giving up no runs and allowing one hit through 4 1/3 before Matthews was insterted. Kennesaw scored a run in each of the sixth and seventh innings to take the win and split the doubleheader with Upstate.
About The Competition
East Tennessee State enters Monday's doubleheader at Upstate with a 13-17 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the A-Sun. The Buccaneers have won their last four games, starting with a non-conference sweep of Milligan on March 20 and a sweep of A-Sun foe Gardner-Webb on March 21. ETSU has played two games against a common opponent with Upstate, taking a 3-2 win over UNC Wilmington on March 1 and a 5-0 win over Coastal Carolina on March 9.
ETSU is hitting .255 as a team. Katy Jett leads the Buccaneers in hitting with a .337 batting average. She is the only ETSU player hitting over .300. Vicki McCoy hits .271 with eight stolen bases. ETSU owns a 3.37 team ERA. Marissa Hardy leads the Bucs with a 2.66 ERA and a 7-5 record in 17 appearances and 13 starts. She tops the club with 104 strikeouts on the year.
Head coach Andrea Mangum is in her third season at the helm of the Buccaneer program. She owns a 109-134 career record in five years as a head coach and a 61-82 mark in three seasons at ETSU. She was a member of the inaugural softball team at ETSU in 2001 and played for the Bucs for two seasons (2001 & 2002) after transferring to the school from Chattanooga after her sophomore year.
Childers Earns Upstate's First A-Sun Weekly Honor
Standout freshman pitcher Morgan Childers didn't take long to make a name for herself at Upstate, striking out a school record 18 batters in the season opener against Tusculum on Feb. 13. She can add another milestone to her list of accomplishments after she was named the Atlantic Sun Conference's Pitcher of the Week. She becomes the first Upstate softball player to earn a weekly conference award from the A-Sun in this, the first year of membership in NCAA Division I and the A-Sun. She earned the award after posting a 3-1 record with a 0.76 ERA, 36 strikeouts and two shutouts the week of Mar. 10-16.
Spartans In The A-Sun
In its first season as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, Upstate is turning in some strong numbers and ranks among the league leaders in several categories. The Spartans currently rank third in the league in hitting with a .281 batting average and 3rd in pitching with a 1.74 ERA. Upstate ranks sixth in the conference with a .9589fielding percentage.
Individually, Heidi Gibbs ranks fifth in the conference with a .387 batting average and ninth with a .452 on base percentage. Shay Slater ranks seventh with 13 stolen bases. In the circle, Morgan Childers tops the league with a .167 opponent's batting average and ranks third with a 1.21 ERA, fourth with 13 wins and four shutouts, fifth with 136 strikeouts, eighth with 12 complete games, 10th with 104.1 innings pitched and 19 appearances.
Provisional Schools Making A Stand In The A-Sun
Although no team has played a conference game in the Atlantic Sun Conference, the four schools with provisional status in NCAA Division I are making a strong stand at the top of the league standings. Florida Gulf Coast, which along with Upstate is in its first year as a member of Division I and the A-Sun, leads the league with a 36-8 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the conference. Kennesaw State has a 22-8 overall record and is tied for fourth in the league with a 1-1 record in the A-Sun. The Owls and North Florida, which is 4-2 in the A-Sun and 24-14 overall, are in their third year of Division I competition. Upstate currently owns the third best overall record at 16-7 and is 2-2 in the league.
Pitcher Queen Of The Sacrifice
Senior catcher/first baseman Tiffany Pitcher has accomplished a lot in her four years at Upstate. She currently owns the all-time school record with a .991 fielding percentage. With a sacrifice on March 16, she surpassed Erin Driggers for first on the all-time sacrifice bunts list at Upstate. She now has 30 in her four-year career.
Run, Slater, Run - In The Starting Gates
Senior center fielder Shay Slater is closing in on Upstate's all-time runs record, needing just two to tie the all-time mark of 182 held by former All-American Krista Altom. Slater was an All-America selection last season for the Spartans as Upstate played its final year of NCAA Division II competition. With two starts against Kennesaw State Friday, the Anderson, S.C., native moved to the top of the list for games started at Upstate. She moved past Altom for the all-time lead, having started 204 games in her brilliant four-year career.
Slater Close To Three Other Career Records
Standout senior center fielder Shay Slater is in the final year of a standout career at Upstate. She ranks among the all-time leaders in 15 categories and is nearing the top spot in three categories. She is closing in on the top spot for games played, triples and stolen bases. She has played in 205 games and needs to play in nine more to reach the top spot (214). She has legged out 16 triples, three shy of the all-time mark of 19. Finally, she has swiped 119 bases in her career and needs just eight more to move to the top of the list (127).
Slater already owns the single-season school record with 89 hits (2007), 70 runs (2007) and 44 stolen bases (2006). The 70 runs scored last year also established a league record in the Peach Belt Conference.
Childers Mowing Them Down
Sensational freshman pitcher Morgan Childers has certainly started her collegiate career with strong performances in the circle. While she leads the A-Sun with a .167 opponent's batting average, perhaps the most dominant part of her game is the strikeout. She has rung up 136 batters on the season, having reached double figure strikeouts totals in six games this year. She struck out a single-game school record 18 in the season opener against Tusculum, tallied 10 against Charleston Southern, 12 against Lafayette, 13 against Coastal Carolina, 11 against Belmont, and a strong 15 against Kennesaw State last Friday.
Morgan Childers - Record Breaker
Freshman pitcher Morgan Childers had a tremendous start to her collegiate career when she stepped into the circle on Feb. 13 against Tusculum. The righty struck out 18 batters and tossed a no-hitter in her collegiate debut. The 18 strikeouts broke a school record that stood for nearly 16 years. Debra Rozier had struck out 15 batters in a 2-0 shutout of Austin Peay on March 8, 1992.
Rice Solid In The Circle
Standout sophomore hurler Brittany Rice has turned in three straight solid outings in the circle for Upstate. Entering the Coastal Carolina game on Mar. 12, Rice owned a 3.37 ERA. In the three starts since, she has given up just two earned runs and 12 hits in 13.1 innings of work, lowering her ERA to 2.73 on the year. During the three-game span, Rice has turned in a 1.05 ERA with six strikeouts.
Quevedo Keeps It Rolling In A-Sun Play
Through the first four A-Sun games this season, freshman first baseman Lauren Quevedo is turning in strong performances. Prior to the start of A-Sun play, Quevedo was hitting .161 with two RBIs. In A-Sun games, however, she is hitting .583 with just one strikeout and has raised her overall batting average to .279.
Run and Gun Offense
No, we're not talking basketball, we are talking about Upstate's affinity for running on the base paths. The Spartans led the Peach Belt Conference in stolen bases last season, swiping 176 bases in 197 attempts. Upstate has not slowed down this season, stealing 50 bases in 23 games this season. The Spartans have only been caught stealing nine times this year. Shay Slater leads the way for the Spartans with 13 stolen bases in 13 attempts.
Spartans In Tournament Play
Upstate has played in two tournaments this spring, going 5-2 in tourney play. The Spartans went 2-2 at the First Pitch Classic hosted by Charlotte Feb. 23-24. Upstate claimed an 8-2 win over Stony Brook in the tournament opener. The Spartans fell twice to Kent State, losing 8-3 on Feb. 23 and 5-0 on Feb. 24. Upstate then went 11 innings, with Morgan Childers pitching all 11 innings, to take a 4-3 victory over Charlotte. Upstate went 3-0 at the Tar Heel Invitational Mar. 8-9, finishing with wins over Lafayette (6-0), James Madison (7-5) and Princeton (6-2).
Deja Vu?
In 2005, freshmen Tiffany Pitcher and Shay Slater helped lead the Spartans to a then-school record 46 wins and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament South Atlantic Regional championship game. Now seniors, the two players get to watch as three of the freshmen players on the 2008 squad have emerged as key players on the team. Morgan Childers is the ace of the staff and leads the team with a 1.17 ERA, 12 wins, 119 strikeouts and a .155 opponent's batting average. Kim Brasil ranks fourth on the team with a .324 batting average and tops the Spartans with 20 runs. Courtney Feldon has taken over the starting spot at shortstop and ranks in a tie for second on the team with a .352 batting average.
Bayer, Berrong In The Hall
Former USC Upstate standout softball players Beth Bayer and Stacey Berrong are the only two members of the softball program to be inducted into the Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame. Berrong was the program's first inductee and was elected to the Hall in 2005. She played for Upstate from 1996-99. She currently ranks among the program's all-time greats in 15 career statistical categories, including topping the list with 46 home runs, 215 RBIs, 425 total bases and 87 walks. Bayer was the program's second and last inductee into the Hall, being elected in 2006. She was a member of the program for just two seasons, but put up impressive numbers. She currently ranks among the all-time career leaders in nine statistical categories. She tops the all-time list with a .799 slugging percentage, ranks second with 28 home runs and third with 79 stolen bases.
Head coach Chris Hawkins was also inducted into the Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame, entering the shrine in 2003. However, with over 460 wins in his career, he was not enshrined because of his accomplishments as a softball coach. Instead, he was elected to the Hall for his exploits as a member of the baseball program from 1986-87. Hawkins was a pitcher for the team after the program was reestablished and moved from a club sport to varsity level. Hawkins became the first Upstate baseball player to be elected the Athletics Hall of Fame at Upstate.
