April 6, 2008

Final Stats

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Sophomore Matt Branham (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley) pitched his first career nine-inning complete game, allowing six hits and one run while striking out 10 to lead the USC Upstate baseball team to a 2-1 win in the first game of a doubleheader at Gardner-Webb in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Sunday at Varsity Field. In the second game, three Gardner-Webb homers helped lead the team to a 9-4 win.

Branham (4-2) was dominating in his start, as he threw a career-high nine innings and struck out a career-high 10. He had thrown eighth innings three times in his career and he surpassed his previous best of seven strikeouts against Tusculum on Feb. 14, 2007 in his second career start.

He walked two and hit one batter and three Upstate errors helped runners reach in six innings, but Gardner-Webb only got to third base three times. After the sixth, no runner got past first.

Upstate (17-16 overall, 10-8 A-Sun) broke through in the second inning as sophomore Jimmy Tanner (Fayetteville, Ga./Stars Mill) led off with a single, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a single to right center by senior Kyle Bowley (Apopka, Fla./Apopka).

The lone run that Gardner-Webb (13-16 overall, 7-12 A-Sun) mustered came in the third to tie the game, as Justin Loyd singled and O.J. McFarland followed with a double to left field. After a strikeout, Daniel Cooke lifted a sac fly to right field.

The Bulldogs almost scored in the fourth, as junior shortstop Eric Guillen (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks) made a fielding error on a two-out play with runners on first and second. Matt Rizzuto barreled around third, but Guillen picked the ball up in short center and delivered a strike home where Tanner blocked the plate to get the out.

The Spartans scored the game-winning run in the fifth as Bowley walked and a sacrifice moved him to second base. After a flyout junior Kyle Simpson (Lyman, S.C./Byrnes) hit a ball down the right field line past a diving first baseman to score Bowley.

Bowley and freshman Keith Bisgounis (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) led the Spartans at the bottom of the lineup, with each posting two hits. Bowley added a run and an RBI.

Webster Beal (3-3) took the loss for Gardner-Webb, allowing six hits and two runs in 6 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five.

In the second game, two homers from catcher Ty Boyles helped lift Gardner-Webb past USC Upstate, 9-4, as the Bulldogs scored six runs in the last two innings to come-from-behind for the win.

Both teams were held scoreless for the first three innings before Gardner-Webb scored two runs in the fourth inning, combining two hits and two squeeze play bunts to its advantage. Upstate got a run back in the fifth inning, as freshman Blake Green (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) reached on an error and Bowley singled on a hit-and-run to send Green to third. Sophomore Brian Dempsey (Montverde, Fla./East Ridge) singled to the shortstop to make it 2-1.

The first of Boyles' homers in the fifth inning made it 3-1, but Upstate rallied to take the lead in the seventh inning as Dempsey led off with a double to right-center. Guillen blooped a single into left field to score Dempsey and Simpson hit a homer to left-center field to make it 4-3.

However, the Bulldogs answered with two runs in the seventh, as Justin Loyd homered over the 350-foot sign in left center to tie the game and another run scored on a two-out error. In the eighth, both Rizzuto and Boyles went deep in a four-run inning to make it 9-4.

Rizzuto went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs, Fulginiti went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, Loyd went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs and Boyles went 2-for-4 with three runs and three RBIs to lead the Bulldogs. Bowley and Dempsey each collected two hits for Upstate.

Jonathon Ban (2-2) earned the win with seven innings of work, allowing eight hits and three earned runs. He struck out six. Adam Bullard picked up the save with two innings of scoreless relief, striking out two and allowing one hit.

Senior Scott Eckard (Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary) (2-4) took the loss, as he allowed seven hits and a walk in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out three.

Upstate heads back home to Harley Park where it has an 11-3 record this year, when it plays Appalachian State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in non-conference action.