Mt. PLEASANT, S.C. - Seniors Jimmy Tanner
(Fayetteville, Ga./Starr's Mill) and Brian Dempsey (Montverde,
Fla./East Ridge) each blasted homers to left field, but the USC
Upstate baseball team fell to the College of Charleston, 20-3, in
non-conference action Tuesday at the Patriots Point Baseball Park.
Tanner got the Spartans (16-34 overall) on the board in the top
of the third, as he followed a five-pitch walk by junior Joe Barnes
(Lake Orion, Mich./Grand Rapids C.C.) with a two-run blast over the
extended height part of the wall for his fourth homer in the past
seven games.
Matt Leeds hit his second two-run homer of the game in the
fourth inning to highlight the Cougars' three runs and to help them
take an 11-2 lead.
Dempsey added another run for Upstate in the fifth inning, as he
blasted his second homer of the season over the left field wall.
The Cougars (36-13 overall) added another run in the sixth
inning thanks to a Matt Leeds double, setting up an RBI single from
Jose Rodriguez with two outs.
The Cougars jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, as
Jose Rodriguez and Greg Blake hit back-to-back homers in the frame.
Three more runs scored in the second inning, as Matt Leeds
highlighted the frame with a two-run homer. The College of
Charleston posted eight more runs in the top of the seventh,
highlighting the inning with a three-run homer from Kolby Epley.
Leeds led the Cougars by setting a school-record with 14 total
bases as he tied a school-record with three doubles and added a
homer from the left and right side of the plate. He finished
5-for-5 with six RBI. Owen Brittle posted three hits and four runs
and Cole Rakar added three hits, three runs and four doubles. Jose
Rodriguez also posted three hits and three RBI.
The Spartans posted five hits in the game with Dempsey and
Tanner's blasts leading the way. Tanner's homer extended his
hitting streak to a career-high 14 games.
Josh Salay (2-3) tossed five innings to earn the win for the
Cougards, allowing four hits and three runs. He struck out five and
walked three.
Sophomore Austin Moyer (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford)
(1-5) took the loss for the Spartans, allowing nine hits and nine
earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two.
Upstate now returns home for a season-ending six-game home stand
at Harley Park, starting the run with a 6 p.m. Wednesday game
against Southern Conference leader, The Citadel.
