Feb. 20, 2010

Upstate vs. Appalachian State Box Score
Upstate vs. Presbyterian Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On opening day for the USC Upstate baseball team, the Spartans earned a split as they fell to Appalachian State in game one, before defeating Presbyterian College in game two. The Spartans now own a record of 1-1 on the young season.

In game one of Saturday's twin bill at Harley Park, visiting Appalachian defeated Upstate by a score of 11-0. The win improves the Mountaineers record to 2-0 on the season.

The Spartans sent senior right-hander Matt Branham to the hill to face the Mountaineers. After allowing a leadoff walk, Branham (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley) got out of the first inning thanks to a fly out and a double play groundout. Over the next three innings, Branham allowed just two hits, one in the second inning and one in the fourth. In the fifth inning, Branham ran into trouble with the bottom half of the ASU lineup. The sixth hitter in the ASU lineup, Hector Crespo led off with a homerun to centerfield. Jason Wallace followed Crespo with a homerun to left field to give Appalachian a 2-0 lead.

After a groundout, Tyler Zupic singled to left center field and stole second base. Branham gave up his third home run of the inning when Jerod Faggart hit a two-run home run to left center. That homerun extended ASU's lead to 4-0.

In the sixth inning, Upstate received two free base runners thanks to back-to-back walks. With no outs, Jimmy Tanner (Fayetteville, Ga./Starr's Mill) stood on second and Austin Moyer (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) stood on first. Tanner advanced to third on a wild pitch by ASU pitcher Tyler Jackson. Upstate could not push any runners across in the inning as Jeff Medley (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) struck out, followed by a pair of pop ups by Joe Barnes (Lake Orion, Mich./Grand Rapids C.C.) and Andre Harris (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids C.C.).

The Mountaineers, leading 4-0 entering the top of the seventh, put the game out of reach as seven more players came around to score. Following the seven run, five hit outburst in the inning, ASU owned an 11-0 advantage.

In the bottom half of the seventh, Upstate had the bases loaded with two outs. However for the second consecutive inning, the Spartans would fail to score as Austin Moyer struck out looking to end the inning.

Over the final two innings, neither team recorded a hit nor a run as Appalachian claimed the 11-0 victory. ASU starting pitcher Ryan Arrowood (1-0) earned the victory after pitching five complete innings, allowing four hits, while striking out eight Spartans. For Upstate, Matt Branham (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits while fanning six.

Barrett Stover (Durham, N.C./Lenoir C.C.), Robert Stegbaurer (Hillsboro, Ohio/Lynchburg-Clay) and Andrew Wyant (Newton, N.C./Fred T. Foard) pitched the final four innings for Upstate. The trio allowed seven runs on six hits. Jimmy Tanner was the leader at the plate for the Spartans as he went 2-for-3 on the day. Leading ASU at the plate was Jerod Faggart and Hector Crespo. The pair combined for five hits, six RBI and four runs. On the mound, Tyler Jackson, Nathan Hyatt and Seth Grant allowed just two hits over the final four innings of the contest.

In game two, Upstate claimed a 6-3 victory over Presbyterian College (0-2). In his first career start, Phillip Brannon (Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) earned his first career victory after pitching five-plus innings allowing just four hits as three PC runners came in to score.

"Earlier today, I called my mom because my emotions were running pretty high," said Brannon. "I kept telling myself all day that I just had to find a way to keep cool and maintain my composure. After I threw those first couple of pitches, I was able to get into a zone and really focus. It was a great outing for me and I am glad that I was able to help my team win today."

After being shut out by ASU, the Spartans found instant offense as they scored three first-inning runs. Austin Liput (Oviedo, Fla./Trinity Prep) led off the game with a triple to the right center field gap. Brody Greer (Honea Path, S.C./Belton-Honea Path) drew a walk to give Upstate runners at the corners. Presbyterian's starting pitcher, Will Freeman, allowed Liput to score and Greer to advance to second on a wild pitch.

Following the wild pitch, catcher Jimmy Tanner doubled down the right field line, allowing Greer to score and give the Spartans an early 2-0 lead. The Spartans added one more run in the first when Austin Moyer doubled to right center, allowing Tanner to come around to score.

"Phillip had a tremendous first outing for us today," said head coach Matt Fincher. "He was able to command his fastball very well today and he was able to keep hitters guessing a little bit with his change-up. He also tossed in a few breaking balls and all in all, I am impressed with his first start." Upstate added a single run in the fourth, when Tyler Cook (Bloomington, Ill./University) scored on an RBI groundout by Greer.

Upstate starting pitcher Phillip Brannon cruised through his first four innings of work against the Blue Hose. Brannon allowed just two hits over the first four frames.

In the fifth inning, the junior right-hander allowed just one run on one hit. Aaron Preston scored after an RBI double by Nate Chong. Chong was thrown out on the play trying to advance to third.

In the home half of the fifth inning, Upstate added two more runs to take a 6-1 advantage. Trey Richardson (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins) singled with one out in the fifth and came around to score on Andre Harris' triple to right center field. Harris scored from third on Blake Green's (Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern) sacrifice fly.

Phillip Brannon returned to the hill in the top of the sixth, but would fail to record an out as he faced six batters in the inning. Brannon, who threw 90 pitches in the contest and struck out six, was relieved by Ryan Newell. Newell, who earned his first career save, went on to pitch the final four innings, allowing no hits while fanning five.

In the sixth inning, Presbyterian scored two runs to cut Upstate's lead to just 6-3. Both runs came in to score when Nate Horton delivered a two-RBI double to the gap in right-center field.

"Phillip really wanted to go back out there for the sixth so we allowed him the opportunity," added Fincher. "We were trying to keep him around that 90 pitch mark with it being so early in the season. He got the ground ball that he needed to get out of the inning, but we were unable to capitalize on that opportunity."

Neither team scored over the final three innings, as Upstate claimed the 6-3 victory. Upstate was led at the plate in the game by Austin Liput and Tyler Cook. Both Liput and Cook went 2-for-4 at the plate and each scored a run.

Presbyterian starter Will Freeman was relieved after two innings as Andrew Foushee and Jesse Harmon combined to pitch the final six frames. The pair allowed three runs on six hits while combining for five strikeouts. The Blue Hose were led at the dish by Nate Horton, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI.

Upstate will return to action tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Clinton, S.C. to again face the Presbyterian College Blue Hose. Upstate is expected to sophomore Austin Moyer to the hill to wrap up the first weekend of action for the Spartans.