CLINTON, S.C. – It was a Saturday to celebrate for the Presbyterian College softball team, emerging victorious two out of three times against USC Upstate for the first time ever by squeezing past the Spartans 2-1 in the finale.

Completing the first of six Big South Conference series below an ominous sky, the Blue Hose found all they needed from their offense in the first frame while Peyton Duncan and Kasey Wolfe combined for six straight scoreless innings in the pitcher's circle.

PC held their in-state rivals to their lowest run total since the first weekend of the season, beating the Spartans back-to-back by a combined three scores. They have now surpassed their win count from all of 2024 by reaching their 16^th W in front of a rowdy Blue Hose audience.

Wolfe and Duncan stymied one of the nation's best batting groups to only four hits, grinding out a huge win that puts them in the early driver's seat in terms of the Big South standings.

Upstate's 85 win percentage going into the series proved to be a motivator rather than an intimidator, as Presbyterian's defense performed at their highest level of the season to start league play at 2-1.


 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
- Spartan DP Sophia Kardatzke (who belted a three-run homer in the Game 2 shootout) was the culprit to the visitors' 1^st-inning advantage, scoring Denver Lauer on an RBI base hit.

- That lead lasted just four at-bats, as the Blue Hose pounced on Upstate pitcher Sierra Maness before she could work the kinks out. Wolfe and Kendall Owens delivered those runs in two straight at-bats, now with 40 combined RBI between them this year.

- Last year's Big South regular season and tournament champions were held without a hit in either the 6^th or 7^th innings, as Presbyterian held the Spartans to just one stolen base over the entire game (Upstate came into Saturday as the NCAA leader in stolen bags with 105).

- The only two extra-base hits of the day came from Owens and Wolfe, as PC did just enough offensively in the opening act to collect their first series W over a bitter rival.

- Duncan was superb in five innings as Presby's starter, winning her eighth contest of the campaign and quieting a red-hot program to just one run out of 19 batters faced.

- Wolfe kept up that defensive excellence by letting just two base-runners get by, fittingly ending the affair with a strikeout as Upstate threatened to tie things up.

- Owens wraps up another sensational week as PC's cleanup hitter, batting .500 over the Upstate series and posting two games in the last four days with three hits. She has poured in four doubles since Tuesday, in possession of the second-best OBP in the conference (.515) while also slugging .735.


 
UP NEXT
 
- PC's next opponent will round out a seven-game homestand, welcoming Wofford on Wednesday for a 6:00 PM first pitch. There were some high dramatics when the Blue Hose last dueled the Terriers, winning 1-0 in eight innings 12 months ago.

- Wofford has taken an L in three of their last four, losing a weekend series to South Dakota and sporting an overall record of 16-9 in just their second-ever season of softball.

- The Palmetto midweeker will be streamed live on ESPN+ as Presbyterian continues a streak of 11 consecutive games against other schools from the state of South Carolina.