NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Charleston Southern softball team gears up for the Big South Tournament, which begins on Thursday in Rock Hill, S.C. at 4 PM. Charleston Southern enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed and will take on the No. 1 seed USC Upstate Spartans.
 
Game Information
Who: No. 4 Charleston Southern (23-25, 9-9 in conference) vs. No. 1 USC Upstate (27-20, 13-5 in conference)
When: May 9, 2024 | 4:05 PM
Where: Terry Field | Rock Hill, S.C.
How to Follow: ESPN+ | Stat Broadcast

Last Time Out
The Bucs and Spartans faced off back on March 24-25 in a three-game series at CSU Softball Field. Charleston Southern took the first game of the series by a 1-0 score, as Nealy Lamb threw a 7.0, complete game, one-hit shutout, and Emma Villaescusa knocked in the game's lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly.

The Spartans evened the series with a 9-5 win in the second game of the series with nine unanswered runs and 16 hits, which were the most hits allowed by Buccaneer pitching in a single game all season.

After winning Big South Freshman of the Week earlier in the day, Lamb went back out for the rubber match, but she did not have the same success the second time around, allowing four runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings pitched in a 5-1 loss.
 
Players to Watch
Charleston Southern: Nealy Lamb has been the unquestioned ace for the Buccaneers in the circle in her freshman campaign. She finished the regular season with a 12-8 record and led the Big South with a 1.58 ERA overall and a 0.87 ERA in conference play. Lamb allowed only eight earned runs in 64.2 innings pitched against Big South opponents while posting a 6-3 record. She also stuck out 6.5 batters per 7.0 innings, which is good for third in school history.
At the top of the order, Madelyne Lee has started all 48 games for Head Coach, Christi Musser this season. She leads the team with a .315 batting average while spending the year in the leadoff spot.

USC Upstate: Sierra Maness will likely throw for the Spartans at some point, as she comes into the tournament with 13 wins and a 2.38 ERA in 147.0 innings on the year. On the offensive side, Denver Lauer has been an issue for opponents this season. With a .329 average, .413 on base percentage, .456 slugging percentage and 40 stolen bases, Lauer has shown tendencies of a five-tool player.

On Deck
The losing team will have the first game on Friday morning, as they will take on the loser of No. 2 Longwood and No. 3 Winthrop at 11 AM, while the winning team will play the winner of the two teams mentioned at 2 PM on Friday.

For more information heading into the tournament, click here.