SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Savannah State University softball team (2-5) split the first day of the USC Upstate tournament Friday at the Pepsi Stadium by defeating University of Akron (1-6) 6-3 and fell to Furman University (2-6) 3-1.
 
Freshman third baseman Cortni Jones went 3-for-6 with three RBIs in both games, while junior right fielder Alexis Singleton went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI and junior designated hitter Amanda Hallman 3-for-7 with an RBI.
 
Hallman (1-1) picked her first win of the season against Akron going the distance giving up three runs and scattered nine hits and recorded three strikeouts, while sophomore pitcher Ashley Eichenlaub (0-2) pitched 4.0 innings giving up three runs and six hits against Furman.
 
Savannah State 6, Akron 3
Jones went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, while sophomore shortstop Brianna Harris went 1-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
 
The Lady Tigers scored the first runs of the game in the top of the first inning.  With two quick outs in the inning, Singleton singled to center and after a senior first baseman Torrian Wright walk, Jones singled home Singleton for her first RBI of the game.  A foul out ended the inning.
 
SSU added two more runs in the top of the second inning to lead 3-0 after an inning and a half.  After a lineout, freshman catcher Kelsey Cyrus walked and advanced to second and third on a failed pickoff attempt.  Sophomore center fielder Shelby Eccles walked and stole second to set up runners on second and third with one out.  Cyrus scored on a wild pitch and Eccles move to third.
 
Junior left fielder Chasney Jenkins walked and stole second to set up runners on second and third with one out and a Harris groundout scored Eccles, but a flyout ended the threat as the Lady Tigers left runners on the corner.
 
The Lady Tigers scored another run in the top of the fifth inning to lead 4-0 after Jones' single to right field that scored Singleton, but once again SSU left runners on the corner.
 
Akron got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the inning after an RBI single up the middle to cut SSU's lead to 5-1. 
 
The Zips added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut SSU's lead to 5-3 after six innings.  Anna Tarpley recorded a two-out two-run double to left field.
 
The Lady Tigers scored the final two runs of the game in the top half of the next inning to win by the final margin of three runs.  Harris started the inning with a double to right center, while Singleton sacrificed Harris to second and advanced to third.  Wright walked to put runners on the corners with one out.  Senior Tamara Jones pinch ran for Wright, sole second to put runners on second and third with one out.
 
Cortni Jones grounded out to shortstop to drive home Harris and Hallman singled to right field to bring in Tamara Jones and a groundout to shortstop ended the threat.
 
Akron went three-up and three-down in the bottom half of the inning to seal the victory for the Lady Tigers.
 
The Zips were led by Alyssa Nicholas, Tarpley and Kayla Scholosser went 2-for-3 each, while Tarpley recorded two RBIs.  Nicole Best (0-2) picked up the loss by pitching 1.1 innings, giving up three runs on two hits with three walks, while Paige McMenemy pitched the final 5.2 innings, giving up three runs and five hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
 
Furman 3, Savannah State 1
Singleton and Hallman each went 2-for-3 with Singleton recorded the lone RBI of the game for the Lady Tigers.
 
Furman scored the first runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning after Hannah Reynolds' RBI triple and Lindsey Bert's RBI groundout to second base.
 
The Paladins added another run in the bottom of the third inning after Reynolds' second RBI of the game singling down the left field line.
 
The Lady Tigers scored the final run of the game in the top of the fourth inning to cut Furman's lead to the final margin of two runs as Singleton doubled to second base to bring home Jenkins.
 
Reynolds led Furman with a 2-for-3 performance with a run scored and two RBIs, while Candace Johnson also went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.  Bert went the distance giving up one run on six hits with seven strikeouts.
 
The Lady Tigers finish the USC Upstate Tournament with Akron at 11 a.m., followed by host USC Upstate at 3 p.m.
 
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