SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate baseball is set for a pair of midweek matchups beginning with a contest against The Citadel at Cleveland S. Harley Park on Tuesday, March 3 at 4:00 p.m.
The Spartans then hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Greenville to face Big Ten member Michigan State on Wednesday, March 4 at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive, a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. First pitch for the neutral site matchup is set for 4:00 p.m.
Kyle Schmitt is expected to get the nod on the mound Tuesday, and Wednesday's starter is TBA. Schmitt is 2-0 this year and will be making his third consecutive midweek start. He also made a relief appearance on Sunday against Western Kentucky. In nine innings pitched this season, he has six strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA.
Upstate is coming off a 1-2 weekend against Western Kentucky that started off with a 12-7 win on Friday night. Senior Jordan Marks posted his third straight quality start, throwing six innings giving up just two runs and striking out 10 Hilltopper batters to improve to 3-0 on the year. Jack Hennessy was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in the game with three stolen bases, two runs, and an RBI. Hennessy was named Big South Player of the Week for Feb. 24 – March 1.
Austin Morgan got the nod on the mound Saturday and struck out seven WKU batters in 4.2 innings of work while giving up just three runs and allowing two walks. Jason Matthews went 3-for-6 at the plate with three RBI as Upstate fell 8-6 in 10 innings.
On Sunday, Devin Buckner extended his hit streak to eight games and freshmen Conner Todaro and Braden Durham each picked up pinch-hit singles to left in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Citadel was picked to finish at the bottom of the SoCon in the preseason rankings and currently sits at 9-1 on the year with the lone loss coming from Yale on Feb. 23. The Bulldogs most recently swept St. Peters this past weekend, taking each game by at least seven or more runs.
Michigan State will be playing their eighth consecutive game at Fluor Field on Wednesday, and the Spartans most recently went 3-0 at the First Pitch Invitational this past weekend with wins over Kansas, Western Carolina, and Ball State. The squad is 8-3 on the year with four wins over Morehead State and a win in extra-innings over Merrimack.
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UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans host Western Carolina and Northwestern at Harley Park this weekend. WCU and Northwestern will face each other at noon on Friday and the Spartans will take on WCU after that at approximately 4:00 p.m. Upstate will then face Northwestern at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
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