Back In Action
5/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 4, 2009
ASun.TV | ESPN 1400 AM (Free Live Audio) | Gametracker
Complete Weekly Release 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After an extended break of nine days for final exams, the USC Upstate baseball team will spend graduation day and much of the next two weeks on the field, as Upstate will play 10 games in 11 days to wrap up the season. The stretch starts as the Spartans make up a rained out game against crosstown rival Wofford at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Harley Park. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 1400 AM.
The Spartans will look to avenge two tough late-inning losses to the Terriers in the Division I era, with Wofford winning a Feb. 26 meeting, 7-3, on a walkoff grand slam. However, the Spartans hold a 16-7 lead in the all-time series and have won eight of 10 meetings as the home team in the series. This is also the first time that Wofford will visit Harley Park, a pitcher's playground, as opposed to Wofford's King Field, a hitter's park.
Quick Hits
• The game with Wofford is Upstate's second game to be broadcast on ESPN 1400 AM this year. The broadcast will feature the voices of Matt Smith (play-by-play) and Bill English (color).
•Senior Phillip Morgan is on a team-season-high 14-game hitting streak. In that time, he is hitting .483 (29-for-60) with seven doubles, nine runs and 16 RBI.
• In three innings of perfect relief work, senior Phillip Myers struck out a season-high six on Saturday at FGCU. Myers' career high is seven strikeouts against Presbyterian on May 7, 2008.
• In four innings of relief work, junior Teddy Fallon struck out a career-high seven on Saturday at FGCU.
• Blake Green had hits in all three games at FGCU and the sophomore has hit in 10 of 11 games since coming back from a concussion that kept him out of the lineup for 15 games.
• Senior Dennis McCraney is currently third in school history in career appearances with 72 and needs four in the last 10 games to tie the school record of 76 set by Chris Fowler (1989-92).
• In his last five outings, junior Teddy Fallon has a 1-0 record and a 3.95 ERA in 13 2/3 innings out of the pen. The Florida fireballer has struck out 16 and walked nine during that stretch.
• Senior Eric Guillen needs a hit to move into a tie for 11th in school history in hits with Kyle Bowley (2005-08) with 173 career safeties.
• Upstate needs a win to reach 100 victories at six-year-old Harley Park.
Graduation Day
Five USC Upstate baseball players will end their academic careers on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. as they will graduate from the University. Seniors Kyle Simpson and Dennis McCraney are in their fourth year with the baseball program and each will graduate, with Simpson earning a degree in Business Administration and McCraney earning a degree in Business Management. Tommy Shovlin, Phillip Myers and Bret Elliott will all also obtain their degrees after transferring into USC Upstate from junior colleges two years ago. Shovlin will receive a degree in information management and systems, Myers will receive a marketing degree and Elliott will receive his degree in interdisciplinary studies.
100 On The Horizon
The USC Upstate baseball team needs one more win at Harley Park to reach 100 wins at the six-year-old facility. The 500-seat complex has helped make Upstate a formidable force in Division II before moving up to Division I in 2008. In six seasons at Harley Park, the Spartans have produced a 99-71 (.582) record, with 19 of those wins coming against teams ranked in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
Phillip's Pop
The pop has started to come back into senior Phillip Morgan's bat, as the Campobello, S.C., native raised his season average by 88 points in the last 14 games, going 29-for-60 in that time. Against Florida Gulf Coast, Morgan had six hits in 13 at bats, including a three-hit, two-RBI game on April 25. He was 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI at Kennesaw State to lead the Spartans to a 7-5 victory on April 12. He was 2-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI in the win over Presbyterian on April 8. In addition, he started the week by going 4-for-6 with a career-high six RBI at Wake Forest and missed hitting for the cycle by a triple. During a three-game set with ETSU, Morgan blasted seven hits.
Morgan is hitting .489 with 29 hits, seven doubles, a home run, 18 RBI and nine runs overall in the last 14 games. For the season, he is hitting .320 with a team-high 14 doubles and 32 RBI.
Fielding Flawlessly
When sophomore Blake Green misfielded a ball at second base against Charlotte on April 22, it was the first time all season that the 5-8 utility man made an error, snapping a stretch of 24 flawless games in the field. Green, who made just five errors in 46 games as a freshman, has been great defensively despite consistently changing positions. This year, the Rock Hill, S.C., native has seen time in center field, at second base and at third base, making his .992 fielding percentage even more impressive.
Green Around The Edges
Sophomore Blake Green has been hot at the plate since coming back from a concussion that kept him from the lineup for 15 games. The second baseman/center fielder has made up for lost time, going 14-for-40 (.350) with five runs and seven RBI in the last 11 games. He has a hit in 10 of the 11 games and in the one game he didn't have a hit against Charlotte on April 22, he went 0-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch.
