SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Despite strong starts from the South Dakota Softball team against USC Upstate, the Coyotes dropped a pair of games to the Spartans Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Spartans scored four in the bottom of the sixth to earn a 5-4 win and grabbed a 7-3 win in game two.
 
Game 1 – UPST 5, USD 4
The Yotes opened with two straight singles from Tatum Villotta and Alyssa Thorson, and Villotta would score from third for the first run of the game on a SAC bunt from Clara Edwards, who beat the throw to first. Villotta moved over to a prime scoring position on a fly out by Delaney White in the at-bat before Edwards.
 
A throwing error by the Spartans brought home two more runs in on a ball in-play by Autumn Iversen. Iversen, who advanced to second on the throwing error, touched home plate after a single up the middle by Piper Ruhl to give USD a 4-0 lead in the first frame.

After plating four runs on three hits in the first, the Yotes were held to four hits and zero runs over the final six innings.

The Spartans threatened in the third, loading the bases with one out. McKenna Young worked her way out of the jam, forcing two straight groundouts to maintain the 4-0 lead.
 
The Spartans scored their first run of the contest in the fifth, and after four straight hits with two outs in the sixth, USC Upstate took a 5-4 lead.
 
Following a leadoff single from Elle McGee, Rylie Jones moved the tying run into scoring position with a SAC bunt. However, the Spartans would put away the next two Coyote batters to close out a 5-4 win.
 
Brooke Carey led the Yotes by going 2-for-3 from the plate with two RBIs and a run. Both of Carey's hits were doubles, while Iversen notched the other extra base hit for USD.
 
McKenna Young is tagged with her third loss of the season after throwing 5.2 innings with four strikeouts and four earned runs. Campbell German entered in relief and retired the one batter she faced in the sixth.
 
Game 1 – UPST 7, USD 3
South Dakota started quick again in the second game of the doubleheader, this time with a leadoff double from McGee. White drove in McGee with a bunt single, while Villotta would later score on a Spartan wild pitch. The Spartans would get a run back in the bottom half of the frame with USD leading 2-1 after one.
 
With two outs in the second, White again came through for the Yotes, this time with a single that scored Sara Iburg and extended the USD lead back to two, 3-1.
 
USC Upstate answered across the third and fourth innings, plating three runs in each frame to take a 7-3 lead.
 
The Yotes left three runners on base in the sixth and seventh frames as they were unable to scratch runs across against the Spartans' pitcher Sophia Kardatzke.
 
Edwards threw 4.0 innings and moves to 8-5 on the season, while Campbell German pitched 2.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts.
 
White went 2-for-4 from the plate and drove in two runs. McGee went 2-for-3 from the plate after moving into the leadoff spot.
 
South Dakota will remain in Spartanburg for a three-game weekend series with Wofford starting on Friday at 4:00 p.m CT.