FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Beall, dbeall@uscupstate.edu

Game Notes | Live Video | Live Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate baseball team welcomes ETSU to town for a three-game weekend series as both programs embark on the 27-game Atlantic Sun Conference slate.

The Spartans will battle the Buccaneers Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will be played at Harley Park and broadcasted on ASun.TV.

Leading Off

• After finishing second in the A-Sun a season ago, the Spartans are looking to capture their first Division I regular season championship. Upstate was picked to finish third in the race for the 2013 championship, while ETSU was picked seventh.

• The Spartans have an all-time A-Sun record  of 58-86, posting over .500 records in 2008 (17-16) and 2012 (16-10).

• In his 16th year at the helm of the Spartans, head coach Matt Fincher has 355 career victories.

• Upstate will trot a pair of unbeaten starters to the mound to open the series, as Brandon Lee (4-0) gets the call Friday and David Roseboom (3-0) takes the mound Saturday.

• Following a weekend series with ETSU, the Spartans will host UNC Asheville in a Wednesday mid-week contest before traveling to Jacksonville University March 22-24 for three more A-Sun games.

Quick Hits

• The Spartans are 5-9 all-time against ETSU since entering the Division I ranks and the A-Sun in 2008. Upstate pulled off a three-game sweep on the road last season, breaking up a string of nine consecutive wins by the Bucs in the all-time series.

• Two of the top four hitters in the league will be on the field this weekend, as ETSU's Clinton Freeman leads the conference with a .481 batting average, while Upstate's Brandon Patterson is fourth in the A-Sun with a .425 average. Freeman also leads the league in home runs with six and total bases with 57.

• Upstate's 2.96 ERA is the second-best in the league behind No. 23 FGCU. The Bucs rank seventh in the conference with a 4.64 ERA, while their 82 strikeouts are the fewest among any pitching staff in the league.

• The Spartans are 10-2 at home on the year with their only losses coming to No. 9 Kentucky and Akron, while the Bucs are 1-1 in road games.

• ETSU started the season winning six of its first seven, but have won just two of its last four with losses to Marist and Winthrop.

WHO'S HOT: Luke Weber was an RBI machine last week, hitting .421 in four games and driving in eight runs. After a 1-for-5 performance against Gardner-Webb in mid-week action, Weber bounced back with seven hits and eight RBI in a three-game weekend series with Akron. He opened the series Friday with a 4-for-5 stint with three runs batted in and two runs scored, and followed it up Saturday with two hits, two runs batted in and two runs scored. In the weekend finale he added another hit and three more RBI, giving him eight for the week.

FINCHER-ISMS: South Carolina Postgame: "We just look forward to the next game and next opportunity. This is a learning experience and I have every reason to believe next time we will be successful."

"We had an opportunity to score more runs than we did, but I thought we did a good job controlling the strike zone offensively."

"Of course you like coming into this environment and experiencing something like this, and hopefully you learn from it moving forward."

STREAK IS SAFE: While Tyler Lesch saw his nine-game hitting streak come to an end Sunday against Akron, his streak of reaching base safely was extended to 11 Tuesday with a double and walk in a loss at No. 5 South Carolina. Lesch is tied for second on the team in runs scored with 12, while his 13 walks are also second on the club behind leadoff hitter Jordan Stampler.

EARLY-INNING PRODUCTION: Upstate's early-inning run production continued Tuesday night at South Carolina in front of 6,447 fans.  The Spartans coaxed back-to-back walks to lead off the game, resulting in a pair of first-inning runs. Upstate has scored 12 runs in the opening frame this season and 33 runs over the first two innings. The 21 runs scored in the second inning is the most in any inning this season.

LUKE CANON: Luke Weber has turned into a nightmare to run against behind the plate, throwing out six of 12 base stealers this season. On March 1 against Dayton, Weber had it all working and Flyers weren't flying very far, getting gunned down in all three base stealing attempts on the day as Upstate rallied for a 4-3 victory.

PLAYING THE BEST OF THE BEST: The Spartans play a host of teams currently ranked in various top 25 polls, including their 12-3 loss to a top-five team in South Carolina Tuesday. The Gamecocks are ranked No. 5 in the latest Collegiate Baseball Poll, while Kentucky is No. 9, Florida Gulf Coast is No. 23 and Clemson is No. 26.

CREAM OF THE CROP: The top two pitchers for the Spartans have set the table all season, as Brandon Lee and David Roseboom have combined for a 7-0 record and 34 strikeouts in 50.2 innings of work. The duo has not allowed a home run this year and Lee's 1.24 earned run average is the best on the team among pitchers with more than 11 innings of work.

HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS: Jordan Stampler has been the ultimate leadoff hitter this season, coaxing 14 walks and being hit by four pitches, both categories that lead the team. He has reached safely in 13 of the 15 games this season and his .451 on base percentage is third on the team.

PATTERSON'S PATTERN: With six multi-hit games this season, including a two-hit performance Tuesday at South Carolina, Brandon Patterson continues to lead the team in batting average at .425. After opening the year with nine hits in four games, he has leveled off and become one of the most consistent hitters in the lineup.

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