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Contact: David Beall, dbeall@uscupstate.edu

Game Notes | @UPSTBSB

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After dropping two of three in conference play over the weekend, the USC Upstate baseball team gets right back to work with two mid-week games against nearby rivals.

The Spartans are set to travel to UNC Asheville Tuesday for a 4p .m. first pitch, before turning around Wednesday and making the short trek to cross-town rival Wofford. First pitch against the Terriers is slated for 6 p.m.

Leading Off

• The Spartans open a season-long six-game road swing with mid-week contests at UNC Asheville Tuesday and Wofford College Wednesday.

• After opening the season with five consecutive road losses, the Spartans have won four of their last five games away from home, including a series victory at Lipscomb April 5-7.

• In his 16th year at the helm of the Spartans, head coach Matt Fincher has 366 victories.

• The Spartans are slated to send Ben Augenstein (2-2) to the mound Tuesday at UNC Asheville, while Chris Cox (2-3) will get the call Wednesday at cross-town rival Wofford.

• After a mid-week tangle with local rivals, Upstate will open a three-game series in Fort Myers, Fla., against FGCU in A-Sun action.

Quick Hits

• Just two programs in the A-Sun remain at the .300 mark in team batting as North Florida continues to pace the league at .325, while ETSU is second at .300. Upstate is currently fourth at .291.

• The Spartans have five hitters over the .300 mark on the season, with Brandon Patterson leading the way at .367 to rank fifth in the league. Brody Greer has climbed his way into the group of .300 hitters, joining Gaither Bumgardner, Tyler Lesch and Trey Richardson.

• The Upstate pitching staff gave up 22 runs over the weekend in a three-game series with Stetson as the Spartans were outscored by 10 runs. The Hatters pushed a run across in 15 of the 27 innings and scored a single run in 13 different frames.

• Since Upstate defeated UNC Asheville 10-8 on March 20, the Bulldogs have lost 12 of their last 16 games, including two of three over the weekend to Presbyterian College. Asheville is hitting .277 as a team, while giving up over 5.5 runs per game. Robert McIntosh leads the team with a .343 batting average, including nine doubles, a triple and two home runs.

• Since Wofford rallied for a 12-11 victory over Upstate on March 27, the Terriers have dropped nine of their last 12 games. The squad did rally for a 5-0 victory Sunday in the weekend finale to capture a series win over Furman.

WHO'S HOT: After suffering three consecutive losses, Brandon Lee is back on track with back-to-back series-opening victories against Lipscomb and Stetson. His six wins lead the team, while his 3.15 ERA is the lowest among starting pitchers on the squad. Lee has pitched into the eighth inning in each of his last five starts and has walked just five batters in 68.2 innings of work, while striking out 51.

BUMGARDNER IS BACK: After opening the week with an 0-for-4 performance against Davidson, Gaither Bumgardner caught fire in the final four games, recording two hits in each contest and finishing the week with eight hits and a .421 batting average. He scored three runs in the series opener against Stetson and sits second on the team with a .321 average. Since the opening weekend of conference play, Bumgardner has raised his batting average 67 points.

SHUTDOWN SOBOTKA: Chad Sobotka has been stifling on the mound over his last nine appearances, tossing 11.2 innings and giving up just six hits and one earned run. He has 13 strikeouts and four saves during the nine-game span, while only allowing one extra base.

STAMPLER EFFECT: Jordan Stampler is back to his normal leadoff ways, hitting .318 in five games last week with seven hits, five runs scored and two runs batted in. He added a pair of walks to regain the team lead with 21, while his streak of 12 straight games reaching base leads the team.

LESCH'S LIMELIGHT: Tyler Lesch stole the spotlight March 30 in the series finale with Northern Kentucky, making a pair of highlight web gems in centerfield. His second-inning diving catch made an appearance on SportsCenter's Top Plays at No. 5. Lesch becomes the second athlete at USC Upstate to appear on Top Plays after Ty Greene was featured last season with a buzzer-beater three-pointer at Lipscomb.

LUKE'S CANON: Luke Weber has turned into a nightmare to run against behind the plate, throwing out 11 of 23 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.

LESCH'S LIFT: Tyler Lesch has soared to the third-best batting average on the team at .315 after hitting .368 last week with seven hits and three runs batted in. His .406 on base percentage is second on the team, while his 31 runs scored are tops on the club. He is second on the team with 20 walks, while his 11 doubles are tied with Trey Richardson for the best mark on the squad. The St. Cloud, Fla., native is also third on the team with 26 runs batted in.

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