Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. – Blake Whitney struck out a career-high 10 batters and Zach Krider hit his second home run of the season to lead the USC Upstate baseball team to a 3-0 victory over the Saint Joseph's Hawks Sunday afternoon from Harley Park, completing a three-game series sweep.

Upstate improves to 4-5 with the victory while Saint Joseph's drops to 1-5.

Whitney (1-1), a freshman from Sharpsburg, Ga., allowed just two hits and three walks over six innings of work to earn his first collegiate win. Zach Mitchell, Coleman Arrowood and Eric Birklund combined with Whitney to limit the Hawks to four hits in the series finale. Birklund (1) picked up the save after pitching a scoreless ninth inning where he gave up one hit while striking out one.

Pat Vanderslice (0-2) suffered the loss as he tossed five innings and surrendered one run on two hits, one walk and five strikeouts.

Whitney held Saint Joseph's to just two base runners over the first three innings as neither team was able to get on the scoreboard. Both teams recorded one hit during that stretch with Daniel Fickas reaching on a two-out single in the third.

Krider broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third as he took Vanderslice's 2-2 pitch over the left field fence for his second long ball of the year, giving the Spartans the 1-0 lead. The solo homer put him in a tie for the team-lead with Erik Samples.

The Hawks had a chance to tie the game twice in the seventh and eighth innings. In the top of the seventh, Saint Joseph's loaded the bases with two outs after Arrowood walked Deon Stafford. Arrowood got out the jam when Stefan Kancylarz grounded out to Krider on the first pitch. The Hawks again put the tying run in scoring position in the eighth when John Brue made it all the way to third after reaching on a throwing error and a ground out. Arrowood responded by striking out Matt Maul to end the inning.

Charlie Carpenter broke the game open with his two RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to extend Upstate's lead to 3-0. Fickas led off the inning with a double to the left center field gap and moved to third after James Fowlkes fouled out to first. Krider would be intentionally walked for the second time in the game to bring Carpenter up with two outs. He sent SJU reliever Dominic Cuoci's 0-1 offering down the right field line driving home Fickas and Krider.

Birklund gave up a leadoff single to start the top of the ninth. He then retired the next three batters on a fly out, strikeout and ground out to end the game and complete the series sweep.

Fickas led the Spartans with two hits while Carpenter had two RBI. Krider scored two of the three runs.

Four different Saint Joseph's players recorded one hit apiece.

Upstate remains at Harley Park Wednesday afternoon as it hosts Winthrop at 4 p.m.

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