SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Presbyterian College softball team accomplished their mission in short order against rival USC Upstate on Friday afternoon, ending a four-year postseason drought with a 3-0 blanking in the series opener. Upstate answered with a 10-7 result in the rematch, although PC will maintain their spot in the upcoming Big South Tournament regardless of what happens in Saturday's closer.
Presby needed only one victory to give themselves the #4 seed in next week's conference bracket, and they succeeded thanks largely to senior
Peyton Duncan's mastery in the circle.
The Scotsmen never let a single Spartan runner advance past second base in the entirety of Game One, leaning on Duncan who tossed her seventh complete-game shutout and conceded one hit in her last 15 at-bats.
It was a scoreless ballgame up until the 6
th when
Audrey Burton broke the ice after a passed ball, setting up sophomore
Baxleigh Arnette to crank her first career homer and cement her team's place in the postseason.
Originally scheduled for 1:00, tomorrow's season finale will now take place 90 minutes later on account of expected rain. Presbyterian's 4
th-seed will not change no matter the result, nor will Upstate's standing at #2.
NOTABLES
- Not only was Game One the first time that PC had ever defeated the Spartans on the road, it also marked the first time that they defeated Upstate while holding them to zero runs regardless of location.
- Duncan was the star of the show, turning back almost everyone she faced. She has now pitched 17 consecutive innings with no earned runs allowed versus conference opponents.
- Hitting .400 in Big South meetings, Arnette's first career bomb was the team's 14
th home run of the year. Half of those swings have occurred in league play, as Arnette now has six extra-base swings in conference affairs.
- Although her 27-game on-base streak came to an end, four-time Big South weekly award winner
Hali Duke still holds the fifth-best BA in the conference (.385). She possesses the team-high in total hits against divisional foes (21).
- A Spartanburg native, senior
Molly Mattas registered two RBI in the second half of the DH with a sacrifice flyball and a double. Upstate ultimately recovered from a 7-2 deficit to end the day on an 8-0 run.
GAME ONE – Presbyterian def. USC Upstate, 3-0
- In what turned out to be the team's first shutout since February 28 versus Tennessee State on a neutral field, Duncan was seemingly automatic as she delivered the program its first postseason bid since 2022.
- For the first five innings, Duncan and Spartan ace Maddie Drerup went blow-for-blow as neither offense was able to generate much traffic. That changed in the 6
th when
Audrey Burton,
Avery Robinson, and
Blair Darby all reached with two singles and a walk.
- With Mattas in the batter's box, Burton was able to slide home on a passed ball and thus give Duncan some breathing room.
- Arnette grew the lead to a trio in the last inning after
Morgan Farthing earned a base hit. Duncan sat down the last two batters with a runner on 2
nd, inducing a ground ball to short and catching pinch hitter Mackenzei Bernal down on strikes to end the game.
GAME TWO – USC Upstate def. Presbyterian, 10-7
- PC carried their momentum into the second contest (knowing that a potential sweep in this series would've propelled them all the way to the #2 seed), taking a five-run advantage into the bottom of the 4
th.
- True freshman
Kaylee Huckaby was productive in just her second career start, relieved by
Kylie Rast and
Grace Kelley for the last two frames.
- The game flipped in the 5
th after the Spartans were able to muster a couple of sac flies, concluding the doubleheader with eight unanswered scores.
