The University of South Carolina Upstate Spartans Softball team is preparing for 2025 Opening Day.
Coming off of a 30-23 season, and going 13-5 in the Big South Conference play, the Spartans look to carry their historic 2024 momentum into the new season. Softball claimed titles as both the Big South Regular Season Champions, as well as the Big South Conference Champions in 2024, earning them a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartan Softball Classic will take place from Friday, February 7 through Sunday, February 9 at Cyrill Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Spartans will play five games at the Spartan Softball Classic, facing off against the four-team field of Bowling Green, Akron, and Monmouth respectively.
Senior infielder Olivia Hall says the team’s mentality heading into the weekend is to “…have fun and play the game like we know how. We’re all super excited to compete and all of us have put a lot of preparation into the season and we’re excited to see how it’s all going to pay off!”
An awardee of the 2023 Big South All-Freshman Team, junior pitcher Maddie Drerup says, “This weekend marks the first games back after a successful year in the 2023-2024 season. That’s why it is so important for us to show up and show out this weekend. We want to make a statement this weekend and open up with some strong wins after all of the hard work in the fall and early spring to perfect our game!”
Expectations are high for the Spartans, as they were voted first place in the Big South Preseason Poll.
“Our expectations for this year are to compete on a larger scale than we did last year. Although we had success last year, it doesn’t mean we take plays off or get complacent with our work, rather it motivates us to beat ourselves from last year and keep the streak going,” Drerup said of standards this year. “Most importantly, we want to win more than ever before, and we intend to do so in the face of adversity along the way.”
The Spartans kick off Opening Weekend on Friday, February 7 at 12:30pm ET against Akron.
All spring USC Upstate on campus games are free to attend.
You can follow the Upstate Softball Team on X @UpstateSoftball, and on Instagram @upstatesoftball.
Leave a Reply