SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On senior night, USC Upstate senior outfielder Blake Green (Rock Hill, S.C.) tallied three hits and finished just a home run shy of the cycle, however it was the visiting College of Charleston Cougars who claimed a 10-6 victory on Wednesday night at Harley Park.
Charleston (24-15) plated the games first two runs in the top of the second inning. With Matt Leeds standing on second base, Daniel Aldrich homered off of the batter's eye in center field, giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
The Spartans (13-28) answered right back with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Tyler Cook (Bloomington, Ill.) and Branden Millhouse (Summerville, S.C.) were able to score on Green's triple down the right field line, tying the game at 2-2.
Gaither Bumgardner (Fort Lawn, S.C.) followed with a RBI single through the left side, allowing Green to easily score from third and give the Spartans a 3-2 lead after two innings.
Charleston regained the lead, at 5-3, with three runs of its own in the top half of the third. The Charleston third was capped by Matt Leeds two-run home run over the wall in center field.
Upstate added a single run in the fourth to cut the deficit to just one run. Anthony Vacca (Fonthill, Ontario) opened the inning with a single to right and advanced to third on Green's double to the gap in right center. Vacca scored on Bumgardner's RBI groundout to short.
After tacking on one run in the sixth, the Cougars were able to increase the lead to five (9-4), with three runs in the top of the seventh. Charleston's was able to push across three runs with one swing of the bat as Jose Rodriguez delivered a three-run homer to left center.
Upstate scored their final two runs of the contest when Austin Liput (Oviedo, Fla.) doubled to left field, allowing Trey Richardson (Lakeland, Fla.) and Luke Weber (Spartanburg, S.C.) to score.
Charleston added a single run in the eighth to set the final tally at 10-6.
Upstate starter Andrew Wyant (Newton, N.C.) was credited with the loss and falls to 1-4 after pitching three complete innings, allowing five runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout. Meanwhile, Cougar starter Robert Jeroszko earned the win after pitching 6.2 innings, giving up six runs on 12 hits with five punch outs. Matt Pegler earned his first save of the season after allowing just one hit with two strikeouts in the final 2.1 innings.
Aside from Green's 3-for-5 performance, the Spartans were led by Richardson, Weber and Vacca. The Spartan trio each picked up two hits and scored one run.
The Spartans will return to action with a pair of games at The Citadel this weekend. The two-game non-conference tilt will begin on Friday at 4:00 p.m.
