SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate baseball ripped five extra-base hits Saturday evening to improve to 2-0 on the weekend and 5-1 for the season with a 7-1 win over Manhattan College at Cleveland S. Harley Baseball Park. Three of those extra-base hits came from Jeff Taylor who ended the night with a pair of doubles, a triple, and an RBI. The Spartans scattered 10 hits total in the game.

Jason Matthews collected a pair of hits on the day including a bases-clearing double in the eighth to drive in three runs. Braden Durham recorded his first collegiate hit with a pinch-hit single to load the bases earlier in that same inning.

Starting pitcher Ben Ferrer picked up his second win of the year by dealing five innings with seven strikeouts, four hits, one run and three walks. Austin Morgan tossed three innings of relief and allowed just one hit while striking out two Manhattan batters before Will Wheeler closed things out in the final inning.

SCORING BREAKDOWN
B1: After giving up a run in the top of the first, Upstate answered with a three-hit, three-run effort in the bottom of the inning. Jason Matthews got things going with a leadoff single to right before reaching third on Taylor's double to left. Devin Buckner then drove in Matthews and pushed Taylor to third on an RBI groundout to shortstop. Cameron MacIntosh scored Taylor with a single to third before later crossing the plate on an errant throw by Manhattan's shortstop to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead.

B8: The Spartans added four security runs in the bottom of the eighth as Julian Rip and Ben Olson each drew a walk before Durham's pinch-hit single to left loaded the bases. With Matthews at the plate with two outs and all bases occupied, the crowd responded to a call on the field which hyped Matthews up for a three-run double to center field. Jeff Taylor then plated Matthews with a triple off the wall in right center to extend Upstate's lead to 7-1.

UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans close out their weekend in the USC Upstate/Wofford Invitational on Sunday with a matchup against Brown University. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.

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