Date Posted: 2/20/2008

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - In a non-conference doubleheader that matched two coaches who have combined for more than 1,000 wins, Amber Patterson slapped the game-winning single down the right field line to give Upstate a 4-3 win in extra innings in game one. Winthrop exploded for 10 runs in the second game to take a 10-4 victory as USC Upstate and Winthrop split the doubleheader at Cyrill Stadium.

Upstate stands at 5-1 on the season, suffering its first loss of the year. Winthrop is 3-4. The game pitted Winthrop head coach Mark Cooke taking on his former assistant, Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins who served as Cooke's assistant when Cooke was the head coach at Upstate, then-USC Spartanburg, from 1987-89. Cooke left Upstate for Winthrop and led the Eagles to their first NCAA Tournament appearance last season, finishing the year with a 50-18 record. Hawkins led Upstate to three straight 40-win seasons and four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament prior to moving to Division I this season.

"I think we played well both games," said Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins. "The first game, Morgan Childers is that type of pitcher. We have a chance to win any game she pitches. We certainly delivered at the crucial time in the eighth inning. Everyone who stepped to the plate made something happen. In the second game, we made some mistakes that allowed them to score a lot of runs. We had some walks and a crucial error that let it get away. Overall, though, I am happy with the effort. We are a young team and we are going to get better every game we play."

Morgan Childers was dominant early in the first game for Upstate. She struck out six through four innings, including striking out the side in the second. She also got early run support as Upstate scored twice in the bottom of the first inning to open a 2-0 lead. Vanesa Flores singled to drive in Kim Brasil with the first run and Heidi Gibbs scored on the play on an error by the shortstop.

Winthrop cut into the lead in the fifth inning when Jo-Lynn Smith hit a solo home run to left. The Eagles tied the game with a run in the sixth inning when Tessa Thomas scored on Mallory Hogan's sacrifice fly.

The game headed into extra innings and the international tiebreaker rule was put into effect. In international tiebreaker rules, the player who made the last out in the previous inning is placed on second base to start the extra frame. In the top of the eighth, Pearl Coleshill pushed Sarah Magee to third with a sacrifice bunt. Magee scored on Thomas' sacrifice fly to give Winthrop a 1-0 lead.

Upstate, though, would rally for the win. Brasil was placed on second and scored on Shay Slater's leadoff double. Gibbs singled up the middle to put runners on the corners with no outs and Flores was intentionally walked to load the bases. Patterson stepped to the plate and hammered a pitch down the line in right to score Slater from third with the winning run.

Related Links:
 • Full Article at UpstateSpartans.com