The Provisional Showdown
5/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 14, 2008
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate baseball team will wrap up its first season at the Division I level with a three-game set against fellow NCAA Division I first-year program Florida Gulf Coast, starting the Atlantic Sun Conference set on Thursday at 6 p.m. before wrapping up the season with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Friday. All three games will feature live web streaming through ASun.TV and live stats through Gametracker on upstatespartans.com.
The Eagles enter the weekend set having already wrapped up the A-Sun regular season crown with a 24-6 conference slate, led by the pitching of junior Richard Bleier (7-0, 2.27) and the hitting of senior Jason Peacock (.444/9/53). The Spartans, meanwhile, will look to advance from the middle of the pack in the conference, as they currently are tied for fifth with a 15-15 record. They have their own star at the plate in senior Andrew Runion, currently seventh in the conference with a .377 average and ninth with nine homers. On the mound, they also have their own ace in senior Kyle Bowley, who is fifth in the conference with a 3.74 ERA and ninth with five wins.
Quick Hits
• The group of five seniors needs two wins to pass the Class of 2007 as the winningest class in school history, having won 123 games in their four years entering the weekend.
• After starting the year in a 1-for-25 slump, freshman Keith Bisgounis has hit .355 (39-for-110) with 23 runs and 19 RBIs.
• Senior Andrew Runion is hitting .404 (21-for-52) with 10 runs and 10 RBIs during his current 13-game hitting streak, which is the team's season-high.
• Freshman Blake Green needs just two hits to become the ninth freshman in school history to post 50 hits in his rookie year. The last player to accomplish the feat was senior Kyle Bowley, who posted 65 in 2005.
• Three Spartan hurlers have appeared in 20 or more games in juniors Justin Hayes and Dennis McCraney and sophomore Tyler Oliver.
• Junior Justin Hayes' four saves are tied for sixth in the Atlantic Sun and his seven career saves are tied for sixth in school history.
• Senior Andrew Runion's 77 hits this year are tied for seventh in school history, six from the school record of 83 set by Brad Wingo in 2006.
Bisgounis' Bat Heats Up
Freshman Keith Bisgounis has been red hot since the month of April, as the Spartan outfielder has gone 20-for-49 (.408) with 10 runs and nine RBIs in the last 13 games. The hot streak has lifted his average to a season-high .296 after he started the season in a 1-for-25 slump. Since then, though, the outfielder has been one of the most consistent hitters in the Spartan lineup, going hitless in just seven of 31 games and hitting .355 (39-for-110).
Hits Keep On Coming
Senior Andrew Runion has been the Spartans' top hitter all season long, entering the final weekend of the season with a hefty .377 average. Now, he is looking to solidify his spot in the USC Upstate record book. With 77 hits this season, he is already tied for seventh in school history, just six hits from the school record set by Brad Wingo, who posted 83 hits in 2006. With 197 career hits, he is tied for seventh in school history, where Zach Huckabay (2001-04) also stands and three hits from becoming the seventh player in school history to reach 200 hits in a career. With 48 doubles, Runion is also five doubles from the school-record of 53 set by Chris Nowak (2002-04).
Reflecting On The Seniors
Five USC Upstate players will conclude their careers with the final crack of the bat at Harley Park this weekend, wrapping up one of the most successful eras in the school's baseball history. During their four years, the five seniors (Kyle Bowley, Mike Colecchi, Scott Eckard, Casey Rivers and Andrew Runion) have won 123 games, second only to the Class of 2007 which won 124 games, reached two Peach Belt Conference Tournaments and helped the team to Division II national rankings during the 2005, 2006 and 2007 seasons. In their first year of Division I play in 2008, the senior quintent has led the team to 15 conference wins and the school's seventh straight 20-win season. Below is a closer look at all five seniors and their individual impacts on the Upstate baseball program:
Kyle Bowley
2008 Highlights: Home run at South Carolina ... Earned first Upstate DI win vs. NJIT ... Earned first Upstate A-Sun win at ETSU ... Won Upstate's first-ever game against North Florida ... Named to Clemens Award Watch List given to nation's top collegiate pitcher.
Career Highlights: Will finish career ranked in top 10 in six pitching and five offensive categories ... Has lowest career walks per nine innings pitched ratio in school history.
Mike Colecchi
2008 Highlights: Had game-winning single in 11th inning at Belmont ... Had two outfield assists at Mercer.
Career Highlights: Three-year letterwinner ... Awarded Thomas L. Smith Memorial Scholarship before the 2008 season.
Scott Eckard
2008 Highlights: Tied school-record for career wins with 8 1/3 inning, two-run effort against Mercer ... Broke record with first career win in relief against Campbell, a 2/3 inning effort for win.
Career Highlights: Holds no less than six school pitching records, including wins (20), strikeouts (257), complete games (13), shutouts (4), innings pitched (308.2) and games started (49) ... Won seven games against DII nationally-ranked teams, including top-ranked Georgia College & State in 2006.
Casey Rivers
2008 Highlights: Posted 7-for-12 A-Sun conference weekends against both ETSU and Jacksonville to lead the Spartans to two-win weekends in each case ... Has eight doubles and 16 RBIs, both career highs.
Career Highlights: Has played at every level of collegiate baseball - junior college (Quinsigmond C.C., 2005), Division III (Worcester State, 2006), Division II (USC Upstate, 2007) and Division I (USC Upstate, 2008).
Andrew Runion
2008 Highlights: Leads Spartans in batting average (.377), runs (41), hits (77), triples (2), homers (9) and RBIs (39) ... Posted first five-hit game for Upstate in DI era against Kennesaw State ... His 77 hits are tied for seventh in school history.
Career Highlights: 18th in school history with .336 career average ... First in career putouts (1196) ... Will finish career in the top 10 in hits (197), RBIs (126), home runs (18), at bats (587), total bases (303) and doubles (48).
Fab Freshmen
The trio of Blake Green, A.J. Clark and Keith Bisgounis have solidified their slots as one of the finest freshmen classes in school history. Green leads the Spartans with a .346 average in A-Sun games and he enters the weekend hitting .298 with 48 hits. He was 26th in the nation in sacrifice bunts per game with 0.26 and 29th in sac bunts with 11 through May 12. He also has six bunts for base hits. Clark is hitting .310 (31-for-100) with 11 runs and 20 RBIs and is one of the team's hottest hitters, hitting .421 (8-for-19) with seven RBIs in his last five games. On the mound, Clark is 2-1 with a 4.71 ERA in 36.1 innings. Bisgounis, after starting the year in a 1-for-25 slump, has hit .355 (39-for-110) with 23 runs and 19 RBIs.
Keeping Thieves In Line
The Upstate catching duo of sophomore Jimmy Tanner and Phillip Morgan have caught an impressive 26 attempted stolen bases this season, cutting down 38 percent (27-for-71) of would-be base stealers. They are second in the conference in the department, one behind Campbell. In 30 starts, Tanner has cut down 13 thieves and Morgan has tossed out nine. The Spartan pitching staff has also picked off five runners in stolen base situations.
