Box Score (PDF)

Spartanburg, S.C. – Charlie Carpenter laced a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth to break a 1-1 tie and lift USC Upstate to a 2-1 victory over Stetson Sunday in the rubber game from Harley Park.

Sophomore catcher Jordan Miller opened the eighth inning with a single off the glove of second baseman Kyle Pitts and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Cody Brittain. Carpenter followed two batters later and sent the first pitch he saw into the left-centerfield gap to collect his team-leading 30th RBI of the season.

"Stetson is a really good team that will be in the mix for the conference championship, so this is a really good win for us today," USC Upstate head coach Matt Fincher said. "We pitched well and did enough with the bats to come away with a series win, and this one feels especially good after losing two close games the past two Sundays."

Miller put Upstate on the board first inning when he delivered a two-out RBI single in the fifth inning to plate James Fowlkes from second. Fowlkes opened the inning with a single through the left side and took second on a sacrifice bunt from Brittain.

Stetson pushed across an unearned run on an RBI groundout by Patrick Mazeika in the sixth inning to tie the game.

Upstate reliever Eric Birklund (1-2) came on to pitch the final three innings and allowed two hits and struck out three to pick up the win.

Spartan starting pitcher Zac Manuppelli went the first six innings and gave up only one hit and struck out a season-high six.

"It was clear from the beginning that Zac had more command today than he had in his past few starts," Fincher said. "I knew he had a good chance today when I saw the first breaking ball come out of his hand. I'm really pleased with the adjustments he made to help us pick up a big win."

Walker Sheller (2-5) surrendered two runs on seven hits in 7.2 innings of work and took the loss. Tyler Keller came on in the eighth and retired the final out for Stetson.

Upstate returns to the diamond Tuesday at 6 p.m. when the Spartans travel to Greenville, S.C., to face in-state rival Furman.

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