May 6, 2009

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Nine hits in the first two innings helped the USC Upstate baseball team to jump out to a five-run lead which was more than enough for the combination of senior Dennis McCraney (Catawba, S.C./Rock Hill) and junior Teddy Fallon (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./Boston College), who combined to allow 12 hits but just three runs as Upstate shocked Southern Conference foe The Citadel, 6-3, on Wednesday afternoon at Riley Park.

With thunderstorm warnings and heavy rain pouring at home in Spartanburg, the Upstate offense opened the floodgates early under the sunny Charleston skies. Senior Kyle Simpson (Lyman, S.C./Byrnes) led off the game by tripling into the right field corner and senior Eric Guillen (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks) followed with a single up the middle on a 2-2 pitch to score Simpson. The Spartans (12-33 overall) got another hit and a walk in the first, but a groundball double play got the Bulldogs out of the inning without further trouble.

After McCraney set down the Bulldogs (28-19 overall) in order in the bottom of the first, the Spartans went back to work, as junior Ryan Wilkins (Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) tripled into the right-center field gap with one out before scoring on a wild pitch. Freshman Jeff Medley (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) followed with a single off the diving shortstop's glove and Simpson followed with a liner off the pitcher to reach. Guillen dropped a single into right field to score Medley and Tanner singled to left to score Simpson and help Guillen reach third. A sac fly by senior Phillip Morgan (Campobello, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) scored the fourth run of the frame.

McCraney (3-1) was able to hold the Bulldogs off, even as he allowed 10 hits, allowing a single run in the third despite three hits thanks to a groundball double play that ended the inning. The Bulldogs cut the lead to three runs in the fourth with another run thanks to a two-out RBI double from David Greene, but a groundout ended the frame.

Upstate got a four-run lead back in the fifth inning, as sophomore Keith Bisgounis (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) singled through the left side to lead off and Wilkins followed with a single through the right side, sending Bisgounis to third, where he scored on a wild pitch.

The Bulldogs got their last run in the fifth, as a double by Kyle Jordan, a wild pitch and a groundout scored the run. After that the Spartans left five Bulldogs stranded, including leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth as Fallon got his lone strikeout of the game to get out of the inning. Fallon fell behind 2-0 in the count to Jordan before fighting back with three straight strikes. After that, all Fallon allowed was single walks in the seventh and eighth frames, earning Fallon his first save of the season in 3 1/3 innings of hitless ball.

McCraney allowed three runs, but walked none and struck out none to earn his 12th career win, moving him into a tie for eighth in school history with Chris Cranford (1988-90). The 5 2/3 innings that McCraney pitched was the second-longest outing of his career and the longest since he pitched six innings at Coker on March 8, 2006.

Matt Reifsnider (1-2) allowed eight hits and five runs in 1 1/3 innings as he took the loss. He walked one. The Bulldogs struck out just one Spartan in the game.

Bisgounis and Wilkins paced Upstate with three hits and a run a piece. Bisgounis added a double and Wilkins had a triple. Simpson went 2-for-5 with two runs and a triple and Guillen reached 175 career hits by going 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI. Guillen now has 176 career hits, which is 11th in school history. Medley also went 2-for-4 with a run and a double.

Matt Simonelli went 3-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. Richard Jones, Greene and Jordan each posted two hits for The Citadel.

Upstate will wrap up a three-game midweek on Thursday when Charleston Southern makes the trek to Harley Park for a 6 p.m. game.