SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Sophomore Amanda Storch tossed her first collegiate no-hitter for event host USC Upstate in a 4-0 win over North Carolina Central University in the final game of the 2016 Upstate Invitational at Cyrill Stadium Sunday afternoon.
 
Storch fanned nine Lady Eagles on her way to the no-no. An early first-inning error by the Spartans and a walk drawn by NCCU senior Markell Wylie in the third prevented the perfect game.
 
USC Upstate – receiving five votes in the current ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll – bounced back from its first loss of the season against Kent State University early in the afternoon to improve to 7-1 overall.
 
NCCU was held scoreless for a third consecutive game and for the fifth time in seven contests to remain winless at 0-7.
 
Sophomore transfer Danyelle Noland nearly broke up the no-hitter with two outs in the third, but her shot to left field was caught by a diving freshman Brittany Case. The difficult play was questioned as being trapped, but the ruling remained as a catch.
 
Junior Jennifer Allison tossed all six innings for the Lady Eagles, after replacing classmate Dominique Wilson in the top of the first after she suffered a potential injury running to first. Allison (0-1) kept NCCU within striking distance, holding a potent Spartans lineup that scored 14 runs against the Maroon and Gray on Friday to four runs on eight hits.
 
Allison kept Upstate off the scoreboard for the first three innings before the hosts received a two-run homer by sophomore Karla Beasley in the fourth. The Spartans tacked on one more run in both the sixth and seventh.
 
NCCU is scheduled to make its home debut in a non-conference doubleheader against fellow Mid-Eastern Athletics Conference (MEAC) foe Howard University on Tuesday at Noon.