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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Trailing by three runs heading to the home half of the ninth, the USC Upstate baseball team trimmed the deficit to two before striking out in the final two at-bats allowing Davidson to hold on for the 8-7 victory Tuesday at Harley Park.

Davidson (11-15) cracked the scoring column first with four runs in the top of the first.  The Wildcats cut David Palladino's (Emerson, N.J.) short as the rookie last just one-third of an inning, allowing four runs on two hits and four walks.

Upstate (21-8) plated its first run of the game in the bottom of the third when Brody Greer (Honea Path, S.C.) scored on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Stampler (Davie, Fla.).

Davidson was able to again take a four-run lead when Drew Gadaire scored when Jake Berman laid down a bunt single in the top of the fifth.

The Spartans were able to tie the contest with four unearned runs in the bottom of the frame.  With Stampler on first and Greer on second, Luke Weber (Spartanburg, S.C.) reached on a fielding error by Wildcat shortstop Michael Zeblo.  The error allowed both Greer and Stampler to score.  Greg Guers (Langhorne, Pa.) followed with a homerun to right to knot the contest at five.

The Wildcats tacked on a single run in the seventh as Drew Gadaire drove in James Serbie to put Davidson back in front, 6-5.

Davidson extended the lead to 8-5 with a pair of runs in the eighth.  One Wildcat run was scored on a fielding error by the Spartans and the other was on a bases loaded walk.

In the top of the ninth, the two teams encountered a 31-minute rain delay.  It was the fourth rain delay for the Spartans in the last 12 days.

After the delay, Davidson struck out twice, setting the stage for the Spartan rally.

In the ninth, Austin Liput (Oviedo, Fla.) walked and stole second before reaching third on a single by Trey Richardson (Lakeland, Fla.).  Greer delivered a sacrifice fly to center allowing Liput to score, closing the gap to two (8-6).  Stampler followed with a single and thanks to a passed ball, Richardson moved to third and Stampler advanced to second.

Dillon Way (Orangeburg, S.C.) tallied an infield single, allowing Richardson to score, closing the gap to one at 8-7.  The Spartans had runners on the corners with one away, but Gaither Bumgardner (Fort Lawn, S.C.) struck out for the second out of the inning.  After Way stole second, Weber struck out to end the contest.

Upstate reliever L.J. Newman (Piedmont, S.C.) took the loss and fell to 0-1 on the season after allowing one run on two hits and one walk.  In two innings of work, Newman struck out three batters.

Davidson's Brian Russell earned the win after tossing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts to improve to 3-4.  Ryan Lowe closed the door Tuesday night and earned his first save of 2012.

Greer and Guers paced Upstate as the duo combined for four hits, three RBI and three runs.

The Spartans will return to action this weekend when they resume A-Sun play at Belmont.  The three-game series will begin Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m. (CT).  Game two of the series is set for Friday at 5 p.m. (CT) followed by the finale Saturday at Noon (CT).  Davidson, meanwhile, returns home for a three-game SoCon series against Georgia Southern beginning Thursday evening.