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

Box Score (PDF) | Play-by-Play

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Playing in its final series of the regular season, the USC Upstate baseball team saw an early 3-0 lead slip away Thursday evening, falling 15-5 to North Florida at Harley Park in game one of a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference set.

The Spartans (25-27, 8-17 A-Sun) drop their fifth straight contest and seventh consecutive conference game, while the Ospreys (37-16, 17-8) stay in the hunt for the Atlantic Sun regular season championship with the victory.

With Jacksonville falling 3-2 at ETSU Thursday evening, Upstate remains deadlocked with the Dolphins for the eighth and final spot in the upcoming Atlantic Sun Conference Championship with two games to play in the regular season.

In a game where the Spartans gave up the most runs they have all the season, the Upstate offense was the story in the early going, scoring a run in the first inning and two more in the third frame to take a 3-0 lead.

Tyler Lesch provided the offense in the first inning, lining a two-out single to left field to send Gaither Bumgardner racing home and give Upstate a 1-0 lead.

The Spartans were at it again in the third inning, using an RBI double by Brandon Patterson and a sacrifice fly from Trey Richardson to extend the advantage to 3-0.

North Florida took over from there, flexing its muscles and scoring 14 unanswered runs to take a commanding 14-3 lead. The Spartans had a bright spot with a Luke Weber two-run double in the eighth, but the Ospreys held on for the 15-5 victory.

Brandon Lee (6-6) suffered the loss, allowing eight earned runs in 6.2 innings of work, while David Trexler (4-4) earned the win in relief, lasting 4.2 innings and giving up just two runs.

Game two of the series is slated for Friday evening at 6 p.m. at Harley Park as the Spartans look to snap their season-long five-game skid. Upstate will recognize its 10 seniors before the contest.

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