April 6, 2010
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (10-27) dropped a 6-0 decision to USC Upstate (25-7) on Tuesday afternoon at Beckham Field.
Spartan starter Morgan Childers (21-3) kept the Gamecock starting lineup, which was missing leading hitter Laura Mendes, off balance the entire game. Childers tossed a two-hit shutout, walking one while striking out 12.
Upstate posted three runs in the first, all with two outs. RBI singles from Katie Zauner, Monica Hall and Cheyanna Ohlrich helped chase Gamecock starter April Borchardt (3-3). With runners at first and third, sophomore Kierstyn White came on and threw one pitch to get out of the jam, as the South Carolina infield defense caught Lauren Quevedo trying to score on the double-steal attempt.
Kim Brasil put the Spartans up, 4-0, after her one-out RBI single scored pinch-runner Katelyn Molkenthin. The score stayed at 4-0 until the sixth, when two more two-out runs crossed the plate for USC Upstate. Cristlyn Chewning drove in Brasil after her two-out double, while Chewing scored on an error.
The Gamecocks left six runners on base, including two in the seventh. Sophomore Evan Childs had one of the two hits, a double in the fourth, while she led off the seventh with a walk. A one-out hit from the pinch-hitter Mendes put runners at first and second with one down, but Childers got a groundout and a strikeout to end the game.
Borchardt took the loss, giving up three earned runs on four hits and a walk in two-thirds of an inning. White went the rest of the way, allowing three runs, two earned, on nine hits and two walks while striking out three.
South Carolina hits the road this weekend, taking on Kentucky in a three-game series. Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 1 p.m. EDT, while Sunday’s contest, scheduled for an ESPNU national broadcast, is slated for a 2 p.m. first pitch.
