Ford's Home Run Lifts Spartans over Stony Brook

Sunday, February 21

Harley Park

1:30 pm

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

3-0

Stony Brook

1-2

Stony Brook

USC Upstate

2/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Box Score (.pdf)

Spartanburg, S.C. - Jordan Ford's three-run home run in the seventh inning gave the USC Upstate baseball team an 8-6 victory over Stony Brook on Sunday afternoon at Harley Park.

Upstate improves to 3-0 and has won its first three games of the season for the first time in the Division I era and the first time since 2005. Stony Brook drops to 1-2.

Daniel Fickas went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, two runs scored and two RBI. J.J. Shimko went 2-for-5 with a single, double and a run scored. Ford was 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. James Fowlkes finished 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Charlie Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a double.

Toby Handley, Andruw Gazzola, David Real and Jeremy Giles each went 2-for-4 for the Wolves. Casey Baker went 1-for-5 with a single and two RBI while Bobby Honeyman went 1-for-4 with a triple, run scored an RBI.

Shimko led off the first inning with a double, advanced to third on a Fickas groundout and scored on a Hunter Gilbert groundout. The Wolves answered with two runs in the third on a Baker double.

Upstate plated three runs in the fourth inning on a home run by Fowlkes. Jake Beaver reached on a double with one out, followed by a walk to Pat Raiff before Fowlkes hit his first home run of the season over the left field fence. The Spartans added a run in the fifth inning on a Carpenter double that scored Fickas.

Stony Brook retook the lead with a four-run sixth inning. Real reaced on a one out base hit and scored on Honeyman's triple. Honeyman would score on a Giles single. After a walk, Handley brought home the tying run with a base hit and would score on an infield single to give the Wolves a 6-5 edge.

Upstate opened the seventh inning with singles by Fickas and Gilbert. Following a strikeout, Zach Krider advanced the runners into scoring position on a groundout, setting the stage for Ford's heroics for the second consecutive game.

Colton Chupp (2-0) earned his second win of the season, allowing three hits with two strikeouts in 1.1 innings. Richie Lacell earned his second save of the year with two strikeouts in two innings. Cole Creighton (0-1) took the loss as he allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts in 1.1 innings.

Upstate hosts Georgia State on Tuesday at 4 p.m. before traveling to Wofford on Wednesday for a 5 p.m. contest.

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