Spartan Trio Lands on All-Tournament Team
5/28/2013 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Beall, dbeall@uscupstate.edu
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Following the USC Upstate baseball team's most successful Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Championship appearance in program history, Gaither Bumgardner, Brandon Lee and Tyler Lesch earned All-Tournament honors from the league office.
Dominant pitching was the story of the tournament as Lee landed on the All-Tournament team after tossing a complete-game three-hit shutout against Stetson to give Upstate its first Division I postseason victory in program history.
"He kept the ball down, changed speeds, hit his spots and did everything you could ask for," said USC Upstate Head Coach Matt Fincher following the performance. "I don't think I have seen a better complete game pitched than that in many many years."
Bumgardner was equally impressive on the mound the following day in another elimination game, tossing 8.0 innings and allowing just one run against 23rd-ranked and top-seeded Mercer. The senior recorded nine strikeouts in his final collegiate appearance on the hill.
"Gaither was unbelievable," Fincher said following the upset win. "That was the game of his career in many ways. We have seen him do that type of thing before, but we needed a tremendous game from him tonight and he gave it to us so I am pleased for him and our team."
Providing clutch hits throughout the championship, Lesch earned All-Tournament honors with a .444 batting average, four runs batted in and three runs scored. He led the squad with eight total hits, sitting just ahead of Bumgardner, who added seven hits and five runs scored to go along with his heroics on the mound.
Entering the 2013 A-Sun Championship as the No. 8 seed, USC Upstate turned plenty of heads in its second championship appearance since being eligible for postseason play, earning a pair of wins and knocking off No. 23 Mercer with a 10-1 victory.
The victory over the Bears was the second win for the Spartans over a ranked opponent at the Division I level after defeating No. 20 Stetson 6-0 on April 1, 2011.
2013 Atlantic Sun All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player – Kerry Doane - P - ETSU
Derek Niesman – IF – ETSU
Alex Reynolds – IF – ETSU
Jeremy Taylor – OF - ETSU
Jacob Bruce – OF - Kennesaw State
Chris McGowan – IF – Kennesaw State
Max Pentecost – C – Kennesaw State
Chesny Young – IF - Mercer
Gaither Bumgardner – OF/P - USC Upstate
Brandon Lee – P - USC Upstate
Tyler Lesch – OF - USC Upstate
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