Toledo Box Score USC Upstate Box Score

The Basics:
Score: Toledo 4, Western Carolina 2; USC Upstate 2, Western Carolina 1
Records: Western Carolina 2-2, Toledo 3-11, USC Upstate 15-2
Location: Cyrill Softball, Spartanburg, S.C.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Western Carolina softball was swept in Saturday's day two action at the Buffalo Wild Wings Classic hosted by USC Upstate. The Catamounts dropped the opening game of the day 4-2 to Toledo and then lost a heartbreaker to host the Spartans 2-1, to close out the tournament. WCU went 2-2 in the first tournament of the season.

Turning Point:
With Toledo trailing 2-0, after one inning, the Rockets scored four unanswered runs against the Catamounts to secure the 4-2 win.

How it Happened:
Western Carolina took the early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Toledo starting pitcher Leah Allison walked three straight batters. Catamount left fielder Hunter Gibbons was hit by a pitch by Rocket's relief pitcher Alissa Nobles to score Abigail Daniels. Madison Armstrong's RBI single plated Ashlyn Long for the second run. After that, Toledo scored four unanswered runs. Western Carolina had a solid chance to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh with runners on first and second and no outs. Long hit into a double play and Kara Salvo ground out to the shortstop to end the game.

Inside the Box Score:
- Senior pitcher Courtney Buchanan got her first start of the season and suffered the loss falling to 0-1. She tossed 4.2 innings allowing four runs on six hits, gave up four walks and struck out four.
- Sophomore Shaina Reed replaced Buchanan with two outs in the fifth inning. She threw 2.1 scoreless innings, did not allow a hit and walked two.
- Western Carolina had five hits in the game and Toledo posted six.
- Neither team committed an error.
- Gibbons and Armstrong each had an RBI in the game.

Turning Point:
Scoreless through six and a half innings, USC Upstate plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 2-0 lead heading into the seventh inning. WCU shaved the lead in half, off a homerun by Courtney Price, but WCU could not scratch across another run to tie the game.

How it Happened:
Western Carolina sophomore pitcher Lily Hayes' only walk of the game led to the first run for the Spartans. A lead-off walk to Spartan Ryan Rector set up a one-out RBI double by Abbie Millette for the first USC Upstate run of the inning. Rector scored on a Catamount error. In the top of the seventh, Western Carolina cut the Spartan lead in half, 2-1, on a lead-off solo homerun by Price. Western Carolina did get the tying run on when pinch hitter Cheyenne Mathews has hit by a pitch with one out. Back-to-back strikeouts by Spartan pitching ended the Catamount rally.

Inside the Box Score:
- Western Carolina had two hits in the game. USC Upstate was held to six.
- Price had both hits in the game - the homerun and a triple.
- Hayes tossed a complete game and takes the loss falling to 1-1 on the season. She gave up six hits, two earned runs, allowed just one walk and struck out five.
- USC Upstate pitcher Holly McKinnon gets the win.

News & Notes:
- Western Carolina ends the Buffalo Wild Wings Classic with a record of 2-2.
- Price completes the weekend with a .455 batting average with five hits, two runs scored, a double, a triple and two homers.
- Price's triple against USC Upstate is the fourth of her career moving her into a tie for third place in the WCU record books.
- Price has 155 hits in her career continuing to rank her sixth in the Catamount record books. She needs three hits to move into fifth place.
- For the weekend, Hayes had two appearances, a 1.27 ERA, tossed 11 innings, gave up nine hits, two earned runs and struck out eight.
- The two runs Western Carolina gave up to USC Upstate is the least amount of runs the Spartans have scored since losing 1-0 to Missouri on Feb. 12.

Up Next:
Western Carolina will return to Spartanburg, S.C. on Wednesday to play a single game with USC Upstate at 4 p.m.

For the latest information on Catamount softball, follow @catamounts on Twitter or go to www.catamountsports.com.