Tyra Parker drives in the winning run for Campbell on Sunday.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/Paul Burgett)
BUIES CREEK — Tyra Parker provided the walk-off RBI in the eighth inning as Campbell earned a series sweep over USC Upstate with a 4-3 softball victory Sunday at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium.
In a game featuring three ties and four lead changes, Campbell improved to 23-9 overall and 5-1 in the Big South Conference. USC Upstate, which entered the weekend series with only three losses on the season, fell to 25-6, 3-3.
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Casey Goguts RBI double to right center.
Campbell responded in the bottom half of the first as Parker reached on a single, advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Alyssa Henault and scored on a Madilyn Gillespie double that dropped just fair down the left field line.
Upstate went ahead 2-1 in the third after back-to-back hits from Celeste Delorenzo and Denver Lauer. The Camels, again, answered later on in the inning as Henault and Claudia Ware drove in one run each.
Lauer hit a solo homer to left field to knot the game at 3-3 in the fifth.
Isabella Smith, who recorded her 300th career strikeout and is now tied for 10th all-time in program history, recorded two key strikeouts while Savannah White caught a runner stealing second in the top half of the eighth.
With runners on the corners after consecutive hits from Allyiah Swiney and Delaney McDilda, Parker drove in the game-winning run with a hard hit ball to the shortstop.
Parker recorded three hits, including a triple, along with two runs and the game-winning RBI on the day. McDilda went 3-for-3 at the plate and both Henault and Swiney recorded two hits.
Campbell combined for 13 hits and had all but one batter in its lineup reach a base on the day.
Maddie Drerup (9-3) took the loss for the Spartans after allowing the winning run.
Smith (15-6) tied her single season-high after picking up her 15th win. She struck out seven batters, walked one and allowed two earned runs.
Campbell returns to action back at Amanda Littlejohn Stadium on Saturday and Sunday for a three-game series against Presbyterian.
(Campbell media services provided the basis for this report)
