March 26, 2008

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Using little ball, the USC Upstate baseball team came from behind to down local rival, Presbyterian, 7-6, in non-conference action at Harley Park on Wednesday night. The Spartans scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning on a fielder's choice and added another run on a wild pitch while the Spartan bullpen performed admirably, allowing just one earned run in 8 1/3 innings of work.

The Spartans (11-13 overall) were put in a hole out of the gate as Presbyterian (7-14) scored four runs in the first inning, with Kyle Craven poking a two-RBI double and William Bolchoz adding an two-RBI single in the inning. Freshman Michael O'Neill (Peoria Heights, Ill./Peoria Notre Dame) came and shut down the Blue Hose for the 3 1/3 innings, though, allowing just two hits, two walks and a fifth inning run.

O'Neill's presence on the mound helped Upstate get back into the game, as it left two runners on in the second to get the offense heated up. In the third, the Spartans broke through, as both junior Eric Guillen (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks) and freshman Blake Green (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) led off with walks. After a strikeout, senior Andrew Runion (Simpsonville, S.C./Mauldin) hit a single to left to load the bases and junior Phillip Morgan (Campobello, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) drove in Guillen with a sac fly.

After Presbyterian's run in the fifth, Upstate started the comeback with three in the bottom of the inning, as junior Kyle Simpson (Lyman, S.C./Byrnes) led off with a single through the right side, setting up Runion, who delivered a blast over the left field wall to make it 5-3. Morgan followed with a double to right field and sophomore Jimmy Tanner (Fayetteville, Ga./Stars Mill) drove him in with a single that bounded up the middle.

Upstate completed the comeback with three runs in the seventh to take a 7-5 lead. Tanner led off with a single to center field and a sac bunt moved him to second base. Senior Kyle Bowley (Apopka, Fla./Apopka) reached on a fielding error to set up freshman Keith Bisgounis (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) who tied the game with a double that looped in just inside the right field line.

Green drove in the go-ahead run with a slow grounder to second base, easily beating out the throw in the double-play attempt and Bisgounis was able to score on a wild pitch.

From there, sophomore Tyler Oliver (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) was in charge in his two-inning stint to get his second save. He got a double play and a strikeout in the eighth inning and got two quick outs in the ninth before the Blue Hose started a small rally with two singles and an error to scratch an unearned run across the plate. However, with runners on first and third, Oliver got the last batter to ground to third. Oliver pitched two innings, allowing three hits and a run. He struck out two.

Junior Dennis McCraney (Catawba, S.C./Rock Hill) (1-2) picked up his first win of the year with three scoreless innings of relief. He struck out two, walked two and allowed two hits. Eric Tatum (1-2) took the loss for the Blue Hose, allowing four hits, a walk and three runs in 2 1/3 innings of relief.

Upstate was led by Tanner and Bisgounis, who each had three of Upstate's 12 hits. Each also drove in and scored a run. Simpson went 2-for-5 with a run and Runion went 2-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.

Runion also set a career-high with his fifth homer of the season. His previous season-best was four, set both as a sophomore and junior.

Robert Anders led the Blue Hose with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, also socking a double and scoring a run. Craven went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Bolchoz went 1-for-1 with three RBIs, adding a sac fly in the game.

Upstate heads to Presbyterian on Thursday in the return game of the home-and-home set, with game time set for 3 p.m. in Clinton, S.C.