DeLand, Fla. -- If the Hatters were looking for an exclamation point to Sunday's Atlantic Sun Conference sweep over the Spartans, Kelsey Waters was happy to oblige.
With game two tied 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Waters crushed a two-run home run to right field, the last of four Hatter long balls on the day, and Stetson held on for a 5-4 victory over USC Upstate at Patricia Wilson Field.
"She got it all," Stetson head coach Frank Griffin said. "She didn't leave anything at the plate on that one."
Ashly Smith went 4-for-4 with two home runs in game one as the Hatters won 10-2 in five innings.
With the sweep, Stetson (26-16, 5-3 A-Sun) moved into sole possession of first place in the conference standings.
"The team came out swinging the bats," Waters said. "We had a discussion before the game that we were going to give (Upstate) a fight, and that's exactly what we did."
Stetson starters Brooke Hutto and Tori Perkins each threw complete-game victories to lift Stetson to its first A-Sun sweep this season. The Hatters have now won three conference games in a row.
"I thought the offense came through for us in both games," Griffin said. "We had the big eight-run win in five innings in the first game, and we had to have the big hit out of Kelsey there at the end (of game 2). It was just a great day for the Hatters."
Stetson had to come-from-behind in both games as Upstate scored in the top of the first inning twice. In game one, the Spartans (28-10, 3-5) scored two runs in the opening frame, but Smith got one back in the bottom of the first with a solo blast to center field.
The score remained 2-1 in favor of Upstate until the bottom of the fourth when Stetson exploded for six runs. The first two came on Jessica Griffin's two-run home run which put the Hatters in front.
"Just to pull through for the team is the best feeling in the world," Jessica Griffin said.
The Hatters also got an RBI single from Jazz Vasquez, a sacrifice fly from Jessie TenBroeck, a run-scoring double from Smith, and an RBI single from Molly Shasteen to break the game open.
With two on and two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Smith hit a walk-off three-run home run to give Stetson the run-rule victory. Smith finished the game with 11 total bases and five RBI.
"Ashly was outstanding," Frank Griffin said. "She is a tough out and she came through at a clutch time for us."
Hutto allowed just two runs on six hits over five innings for her 12th win of the year.
In game two, Perkins pitched around four solo home runs, including three off the bat of Ryan Rector, to earn her eighth win of the season.
Once again, Stetson rallied from a 2-0 deficit. In the bottom of the third, Kayla Drury singled home TenBroeck with two outs to pull the Hatters within one. In the fourth, Vasquez hit a two-out, two-run double to leftcenter to give Stetson a 3-2 lead.
Upstate tied the game in the top of the sixth, but in the bottom half of the frame with Brittany Hawn at first base and one out, Waters put the Hatters in the lead once again.
"I tried to bunt, and I missed it the first time," Waters said. "I got angry at myself and decided to swing at the next pitch, and it worked."
Rector pulled the Spartans within a run in the top of the seventh, but Perkins retired Karla Beasley on a ground ball to second to close out the sweep.
The Hatters finished the day with 15 runs and 16 hits combined.
"Coach Griffin came to us at practice at Thursday and really riled us up," Jessica Griffin said. "He let us know that we can do this, and I think it finally hit home that we can swing the bats. I am really proud of us."
Stetson will visit FGCU next weekend for a three-game series in Fort Myers.
Notes: A season-high crowd of 485 was on hand ... Stetson now has 10 come-from-behind victories this season ... Smith became the first Hatter with four hits, two home runs, and a walk-off home run since Jessica Griffin did all those things on Feb. 20, 2015 vs. Morgan State ... Griffin threw out her 11th basestealer of the year in game one ... The Hatters are 4-1 in their last five home games vs. USC Upstate ... Stetson did not commit an error in either game ... The Hatters improved to 11-3 in one-run games ... Griffin became the eighth player in school history to hit 20 career home runs. She also moved past Lindsay Wightman into second place in career walks (108). She was on base all six times ...
