CHARLESTON, S.C. – USC Upstate baseball recorded 16 hits and put up a combined 12 runs between the fifth and sixth innings to take a 13-10 win in game three against College of Charleston Sunday afternoon. With their second straight weekend sweep, the Spartans improve to 6-0 on the season with conference play coming up next.
"It was a great weekend for us. Yesterday was a pitcher's duel and today was a slugfest. Regardless, we accomplished what we came to do and that's win a ballgame and win a series, winning all three games against a really good ball club. I'm proud of what we did today. We battled some adversity. We had a couple miscues and got behind, but I thought Ben Ferrer pitched really well for us. We ran into a little trouble not throwing enough strikes late in the game and let Charleston get back in it, but I thought Trey Miller did a great job and Austin Morgan came in and closed the door. I'm really proud of our club to come into our first road trip and play as well as we did," said head coach Mike McGuire.
Ben Ferrer threw back-to-back 1-2-3 innings to start things off but got into some trouble in the third when the leadoff batter for Charleston reached on an errant throw by Easton Cullison, and the Cougars ripped a three-run homer to left center. Ferrer would only give up one more run in his six innings of work to pick up the win and improve to 2-0 on the season. He fanned five batters and allowed zero walks in the outing.
Jeff Taylor, Devin Buckner, and Drew Camp all had three hits on the day, and Camp drove in four runs beginning with an RBI double in the fifth followed by a bases-loaded triple in the sixth.
Jack Gallagher finished the day with two hits and four RBI to extend his hit streak to nine games. He got the Spartans on the board with a sacrifice fly in the first and had a pair of RBI singles later in the game.
Trey Miller was solid at the end of the game in a two-inning outing with two strikeouts, one walk, and two runs given up. Austin Morgan stepped in to get the strikeout for the last out of the game, which earned him his second save of the year.
Scoring Summary
T3 | Taylor doubled to right field and was pushed home on Gallagher's sacrifice fly to center to get Upstate on the board 1-0.
B3 | Luke Stageberg reached on an error from Cullison to lead things off, and Jared Kirven singled up the middle to set Brody Hopkins up for a three-run homer over the left center wall to put the Cougars up 3-1, their first lead of the series.
T5 | Taylor took advantage of an error on Charleston's shortstop to reach first, and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for the Spartans with no outs. Gallagher knocked in two runs with a single up the middle before Camp drove in another run with a double to right. Mason Stewart stepped in to pinch hit in his season debut, and sent another Spartan run home on a sacrifice fly to right that gave Upstate a 5-3 lead.
T6 | After Jack Hennessy's leadoff single, Jason Matthews walked and Taylor was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Back-to-back-to-back RBI singles to left from Buckner, Noah Rabon, and Gallagher put three runs up for the Spartans, and with bases still loaded and no outs, Camp ripped a three-run triple to right before making it home on an error by the second baseman. Upstate would get one more run in the inning as Cameron MacIntosh made it home on Matthews' groundout to second. The Spartans led 13-3 after the top of the sixth.
B6 | With one out, Donald Hansis sent a solo homerun over the right field wall to make it 13-4.
B7 | The Cougars would get four runs back in the bottom of the seventh as back-to-back singles and a walk set Harrison Hawkins up for a base-clearing double to left. Hansis then struck again with an RBI single to right to cut Charleston's deficit to 13-8.
B8 | After a leadoff double for Hopkins, Trotter Harlan pushed him to third with a groundout to first base and Joseph Mershon pushed him home on a groundout to second base.
B9 | Hawkins had a leadoff single to third base, stole second, and made it home on Stageberg's groundout to second base to make it 13-10.
UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans return home to Harley Park next weekend to get their first taste of conference play this season as they host Radford in a three-game series. First pitch for game one on Friday, March 5 is set for 4 p.m. with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 5 beginning at 1 p.m. and game three to follow.
Spartans Win Today, You Save Tomorrow!
Save 50% off online orders at Papa John's locations across the Upstate. Use the code USCUP50 when placing online orders the day after Upstate victories. Also tomorrow, visit The Beacon Drive-In located in Spartanburg and show the win graphic posted to the @UpstateSpartans Instagram account to claim a free sweet tea as part of the "Sweet Taste of Victory" promotion. No purchase necessary.
JOIN UP
Make a difference in the lives of USC Upstate student-athletes! Donate to the USC Upstate U Club today!
Keep UP with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics
Twitter | @UpstateBSB @UpstateSpartans
Instagram | @UpstateBSB @UpstateSpartans
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
