Wednesday, May 11, 2011

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Lauren Quevedo hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning to break a 5-5 tie and lift third-seeded USC Upstate to a 7-5 victory over sixth-seeded Kennesaw State in the first round of the 2011 Atlantic Sun Softball Championship Wednesday evening at Cyrill Stadium.

Upstate advances to the second round to face No. 2 seed Lipscomb at 3 p.m., while Kennesaw State squares off with Campbell at 10 a.m. in the first elimination game of the tournament.

With the victory, Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins reached 600 career wins, while Upstate broke its single-season school record for wins in the Division I era with 42. The Spartans improved to 42-11 on the year, while Kennesaw State fell to 28-26.

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Read the Atlantic Sun Insider Column: Spartans' Win Sends Coach Hawkins Packing

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Upstate jumped on top early in the game, scoring two runs in the first inning and three in the second to open a 5-0 lead. However, Kennesaw State used a five-run fourth inning to tie the game at 5-5.

First Team All-Atlantic Sun memeber Lauren Quevedo then put Upstate on top for good with her two-run blast in the fifth inning. Kennesaw State stranded two runners on base in the sixth inning and Upstate starter Morgan Childers got a double play and a strikeout in the seventh to preserve the win.

Childers improved to 29-7 on the year with the win. She allowed five runs, but none were earned. Amanda Henderson took the loss for the Owls and fell to 5-9.

Jessica Cross and Lyndsay McCurry each had two hits for Kennesaw State, while Lindsay Kelly had two hits for Upstate.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.