SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park is set to play host to five games this weekend as USC Upstate has once again partnered up with Wofford College to co-host the Annual USC Upstate/Wofford Invitational. Brown University, Manhattan College, Monmouth University, and Presbyterian College will all visit Harley Park over the course of the weekend with Upstate facing the former three.

The Spartans are coming off a 13-2 win over Furman on Tuesday when the squad scattered 17 hits over an eight inning game that fought off the rain and was eventually called early due to fog. Jeff Taylor was a double short of the cycle in the game with five RBIs while Cameron MacIntosh went 4-for-5 at the plate with three RBIs. Mason Stewart had three hits and drove in a pair of runs as well. Starting pitcher Kyle Schmitt got the win on the mound as he went four innings with three strikeouts, two hits, and no walks. Kevin Davis entered to strikeout the side in the fifth inning and collected two more strikeouts over his three innings of work with no hits and no walks.

Upstate's pitching staff has been dominant through the first four games of the season and enters the weekend with a league-best 1.29 ERA, led by the Big South's current top three pitchers in Jordan Marks, Kevin Davis, and Kyle Schmitt. Opponents are hitting just .175 against Spartan pitchers this season. Ben Ferrer leads the team with 13 strikeouts and has an ERA of 1.23. Along with Kevin Davis, Will Wheeler has been a weapon out of the bullpen with six strikeouts, no hits, and no runs in his relief work so far.

The Spartans are also sitting toward the top of the Big South offensively with the league's second best team batting average (.310). Mason Stewart leads Upstate's hitters, batting .615 which currently ranks second in the Big South. Four other Spartans are batting .333 or better through the first four games.

Monmouth is returning to the Carolinas after a four-game slate on opening weekend where the Hawks went 2-2 in Cary, N.C. Manhattan went 1-2 on opening weekend and is coming off a 6-1 win against Air Force on Saturday. Rounding out Upstate's opponents this weekend is Brown, which will be opening its season against Presbyterian on Friday morning.

Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 21
Brown vs. Presbyterian 11:30am
Monmouth vs. USC Upstate 3:15pm

Saturday, Feb. 22
Monmouth vs. Presbyterian 12:00pm
Manhattan vs. USC Upstate 4:00pm

Sunday, Feb. 23
Brown vs. USC Upstate 1:00pm

Pitching Matchups
Friday: RHP Jordan Marks (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Dan Klepchick (0-0, 1.59 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Ben Ferrer (1-0, 1.23 ERA) vs. RHP T.J. Stuart (0.0, 1.50 ERA)  
Sunday: TBA vs. RHP Will Tomlinson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Broadcast Info
Live Stats
Live Audio (Upstate games only)

UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans continue their season-opening homestand on Tuesday when cross-town rival Wofford College visits Harley Park for a 4:00 p.m. midweek matchup.

Keep UP with the Spartans
Facebook (UpstateAthletics)
Twitter (@UpstateBSB)
Instagram (@UpstateBSB)
YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics)