May 9, 2009

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - A four-run rally was capped when junior Jimmy Tanner (Fayetteville, Ga./Starr's Mill), head down and huffing after six and a half hours of baseball, crossed first base, took one more step and then the North Florida first baseman caught the throw from across the infield while senior Eric Guillen (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks) crossed home plate to give the USC Upstate baseball team a thrilling 8-7 walk-off win in the nightcap of a doubleheader on Saturday at Harley Park in Atlantic Sun Conference action. The Spartans fell in the doubleheader opener, 21-16, in the highest-scoring game in the history of Harley Park despite posting the first 10-hit game in the Division I era.

Upstate's win over North Florida was just the second in school history after losing the first 22 meetings in the series history with the former Peach Belt Conference rival before winning the first game against the Ospreys (20-28 overall, 13-13 A-Sun) at the Division I level in 2008. The Spartans (14-34 overall, 4-22 A-Sun) can take their first-ever series against North Florida if they win on Sunday. First pitch for the special Mother's Day/Senior Day game is set for 1 p.m.

Down 7-4, the Spartans started their rally in the bottom of the ninth with one out when sophomore Keith Bisgounis (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) lifted a fly ball into short right field. When the second baseman lost sight of the ball, the ball careened off a diving right fielder's chest for a single. Junior Ryan Wilkins (Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) wasted little time taking advantage, drilling an 0-1 pitch into center field. After a fly out into left center for the second out, senior Kyle Simpson (Lyman, S.C./Byrnes) drilled a pitch through the right side to score Bisgounis and move Wilkins to third.

With a wide-open left-center field, Guillen worked the count, falling off a 2-2 pitch before drilling a hanger into left center that rolled into the gap. With the runners on the move, Wilkins scored easily and Simpson rounded third as the ball was relayed in. The North Florida catcher blocked the plate well, but the ball bounced away from him and Simpson slid hard and low to snag the plate and tie the game. Meanwhile, Guillen moved all the way to third on the play.

Tanner followed with a high bouncer to third that short-hopped the third baseman and bounced off his glove. As he raced to pick it up, designated hitter Tanner pounded down the line, beating the off-balance throw by a step, sending off the Spartans' celebration at home plate as Guillen crossed.

The Ospreys took a three-run lead in the top of the ninth as Sam Perry singled before Brian Wilson homered to right field. Another run was manufactured after Michael Smith was hit by a pitch. In a bizarre play, Smith stole second with two outs and initially was called safe before the home plate umpire called interference on the batter, which looked to end the inning. The Spartans left the field of play before the umpires ruled that it was an unintentional interference and that Smith only had to return to first base by rule. After a 10-plus-minute delay clearing up the issue, the Ospreys' rally continued as Preston Hale singled through the right side to move Smith to third, where he scored on a wild pitch before Upstate got out of the jam.

Upstate built a 4-0 lead in the game thanks to the pitching of senior Dennis McCraney (Catawba, S.C./Rock Hill), who on two days rest after throwing 5 1/3 innings at The Citadel, pitched six-plus innings, allowing five hits and no runs until the seventh. He walked one and struck out three and Upstate moved to 13-1 all-time in games the senior has started.

The Spartans got on the board in the fourth inning as senior Phillip Morgan (Campobello, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single into left field before freshman Austin Moyer (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) homered to right field. The Spartans added two more runs in the fifth when freshman Austin Liput (Oviedo, Fla./Trinity Prep) singled up the middle to lead off. After a sac bunt, Guillen singled into left center to score Liput. Tanner followed with a single through the right side to move Guillen to third, where he scored on a wild pitch.

McCraney, meanwhile, was in control, allowing just four batters to reach in the first six innings and no batter to reach second base before T.J. Thompson drilled a double to right to start the seventh. Justin Preckajlo followed with a homer to left to make it 4-2 and another single finally chased McCraney from the mound after an efficient 83-pitch effort. The Ospreys continued the rally, though, as two walks loaded the bases and Smith delivered a two-RBI single up the middle to tie the game.

Guillen led the Spartans, going 3-for-5 with two runs, a double and three RBI. Simpson went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI and Wilkins also added a 2-for-4 game with a run, as Upstate pounded out 12 hits to give them 34 safeties during the doubleheader.

Wilson went 2-for-5 with a run and two RBI and Preckajlo also added two hits and two RBI for the Ospreys.

Junior Tyler Oliver (Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill) (1-5) earned the win in relief for Upstate, allowing a walk but getting out of the ninth-inning jam by getting a pop-up. Spencer Jones (2-2) took the loss for the Ospreys, allowing four hits and four runs in 1 2/3 innings.

In the first game of the doubleheader, the USC Upstate baseball team used a series of rallies to stay close, but two seven-run innings by North Florida powered it to a 21-16 win in the highest-scoring game in Harley Park's six-year history.

The Ospreys and Spartans combined for 37 runs, just nipping out the previous record of 36 runs set when Upstate beat St. Thomas Aquinas, 21-15, on March 5, 2005. The Spartans ripped 22 hits in the game, a Division I record and their first 20-hit game since a 14-13 win over Lander on April 14, 2007.

Morgan led the Spartans in the game, going 4-for-6 with two homers, four runs and four RBI. He became the first Spartan to hit two homers in a game since Eric Davis hit two bombs in a 9-2 win over Augusta State on April 23, 2005.

Upstate jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first game thanks to a one-out double to center field by Guillen and a two-run homer to left by Morgan on a hanging first-pitch breaking ball.

The Ospreys took over from there, scoring a single run in the second before getting seven, including a grand slam to center by Justin Preckajlo. Two more runs crossed on four hits in the fourth to give UNF a 10-2 lead.

The Spartans cut into the lead in the fourth inning, as Morgan ripped a first-pitch changeup into left field for a base hit and Moyer followed with a two-run homer to left-center. Upstate kept the rally alive, as Wilkins singled through the right side and junior Brian Dempsey (Montverde, Fla./East Ridge) was hit by a pitch. Freshman Jeff Medley (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) singled through the left side to score Wilkins and an error moved Dempsey over to third, where he scored on a bloop single to right by Simpson.

Upstate cut the lead to three runs at 10-7 in the bottom of the sixth inning as Medley was hit by a pitch, took second on a sac bunt and scored on an opposite field single by Guillen. North Florida broke the game open in the top of the seventh inning, though, as Michael Smith hit a three-run homer to right-center and Preston Hale hit another homer to right to make it 14-7.

The Spartans once again fought back, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh, as sophomore Blake Green (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) singled with one out and Wilkins followed with a single to right before Dempsey singled through the left side to score Green. After a strikeout, Simpson launched a ball to deep center field for a triple, scoring Wilkins and Dempsey in the process.

Upstate stayed on the comeback trail in the eighth, cutting the lead to 14-12, as Tanner walked to lead off and Morgan found lift off again on a 1-0 pitch sending a ball over the centerfield wall.

UNF once again rallied back in the ninth though, scoring seven runs on five hits, two walks and two wild pitches to do the damage. Sam Perry homered to cap the rally. In the bottom of the inning, though, Upstate once again fought back, as Simpson led off with a double off the wall in right field. After a foul out got Simpson to third, Tanner delivered a liner into right-center to score a run. Morgan followed with a single to the shortstop and Moyer delivered a line single into right field off the second baseman's glove to score Tanner. Another infield single by Green scored Tanner and Wilkins followed with a single up the middle to score Moyer.

Two other Spartans had four hits in the game, as Green finished 4-for-6 with a run and RBI and Wilkins went 4-for-6 with two runs and a RBI. Simpson finished with three hits, a run, a double, a triple and three RBI. Moyer had two hits, two runs, a homer and three RBI and Guillen added two hits, a run and a RBI. With those two hits, Guillen moved past Jason Westbrook (1993-95) into 10th in school history in career hits. He finished the doubleheader with 183 career hits thanks to five hits.

Smith finished 4-for-6 with four runs and a grand slam to lead the Ospreys. Hale went 3-for-5 with four runs, a homer and a RBI and Perry went 3-for-5 with three runs, two RBI and a homer. T.J. Thompson added two hits, three runs and two RBI and both David Eldridge and T.J. Gavlik added two of North Florida's 20 hits.

John Frawley (7-2) earned the win for the Ospreys, pitching six innings and allowing 10 hits and seven runs. He struck out five. Ty Pryor earned his fourth save, pitching two innings and allowing seven hits and four runs. He struck out two.

Freshman Ryan Fern (Oviedo, Fla./Winter Springs) (1-7) took the loss for Upstate, allowing eight hits and six earned runs in three innings. He struck out four.