Spartans Fall to Lipscomb in Series Opener
4/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Spartanburg, S.C. – Ian Martinez-McGraw allowed one run in eight innings to lead Lipscomb to an 11-1 victory over USC Upstate Friday from Harley Park in the opening game of a three-game series.
McGraw (5-2) allowed hits to four of the first seven hitters, but held the Spartans hitless until Cody Brittain singled to center with two outs in the seventh inning.
Upstate starting pitcher Jordan Miller (1-1) gave up two runs on three hits and suffered the loss.
Lipscomb used an RBI single from third baseman Hunter Hanks in the first inning to register the first run of the game.
Daniel Fickas led off the bottom half with a double down the left field line and took third when Erik Samples followed with a single through the left side. Fickas scored his team-leading 34th run of the season on the next play on a groundout by Zach Krider.
Tyson Ashcraft regained the lead for Lipscomb in the second inning with a solo home run to left field before doing the same to begin the fourth inning.
Jonathan Allison delivered an RBI single in the fifth and Grant Massey hit a two-run home run in the sixth to give Lipscomb a 6-1 lead.
The Bisons finished the game by scoring three runs in the seventh, one in the eighth and one more in the ninth.
Upstate and Lipscomb resume the series Saturday at 2 p.m. with Blake Whitney matching up with Jeffrey Passantino.
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