Weekend Series MatchUP
Game 1: Friday, April 2 | 3:00 p.m. EST
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 (DH) | 1:00 p.m. EST
Game 3: Saturday, April 3 (DH) | 4:30 p.m. EST
USC Upstate (16-5, 9-5 BSC) at Radford University (12-10, 6-6 BSC)
Sherman Carter Memorial Stadium | Radford, Va.
Projected Starting Pitchers
Game 1: RHP Jordan Marks [4-1, 1.83 ERA, 47K] vs. LHP Vinnie Venturi [1-3, 5.63 ERA, 29K]
Game 2: RHP Alex Garbrick [4-1, 1.48 ERA, 35K] vs. RHP Greg Duncan [2-0, 4.91 ERA, 28K]
Game 3: TBA vs. RHP Ryan Bywaters [2-2, 4.11 ERA, 29K]
Series History
The Spartans and Highlanders have met eight times in their history, dating back to the first meeting on March 18, 2016. The Highlanders won the first two matchups against Upstate in Spartanburg, but the Spartans hold a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series after having won the last four consecutive contests against the Highlanders. This weekend will be the second series meeting between the two clubs this season, as the Spartans swept the Highlanders in the opening Big South series at home back on March 5-6.
Last Time Out
Upstate enters the weekend looking to bounce back after dropping the series at Winthrop last weekend. Jordan Marks pitched a gem in the series opener and the Spartans saw a trio of RBI from Devin Buckner and a solo homerun from Jeff Taylor to blank the Eagles 5-0 Friday night. However, Upstate dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader. Three unearned runs in the first inning of the first game of the doubleheader proved to be detrimental in a 5-2 loss, and the series finale proved to be a pitcher's duel. Despite a chance to plate a couple of runs in the fifth, the Spartans were held scoreless until the top of the seventh. The 1-1 score would only last an inning, as the Eagles retook the lead in the bottom of the eighth and held on to secure a 2-1 win.
Radford is coming off a 9-5 win this past Tuesday in a midweek matchup against East Tennessee State. After falling behind 1-0 early, the Highlanders scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to claim the lead and went on to plate a pair in the sixth and seventh innings before a final security run in the eighth, never giving the lead back up.
Ones to Watch
Upstate:
- Noah Rabon notched a hit in each game this past weekend against Winthrop, and went 3-for-5 at plate with three doubles in Saturday's doubleheader. He now ranks fifth on the Spartan roster with a .311 batting average and third in hits and RBI with 23 and 15, respectively. Rabon's five doubles this past week brings his season total to nine, which leads all Spartan hitters. He is currently riding an on-base streak of 12 games and was just named Big South Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday.
- Devin Buckner continues to be a consistent threat at the plate for the Spartans as he batted .333 across four games last week with two doubles and five RBI. He currently ranks second on the Spartan roster in batting average (.352), hits (25), and RBI (19), and is third on the team in slugging percentage (.451). Buckner also ranks fourth in the Big South in batting average and hits, and fourth in RBI. Following his strong outings against Winthrop, Buckner enters the weekend series against Radford on an eight-game hit streak.
- Friday night ace Jordan Marks is part of a pitching staff that leads the nation with a 2.23 ERA. His individual ERA of 1.83 ranks fifth in the Big South Conference and he leads the league with 47 strikeouts. Marks also boasts a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 11.75, which leads the league and ranks 10th in the nation. He is coming off a gem last weekend as he threw 6.2 innings of shutout baseball to pick up his fourth win of the season in a 5-0 series-opening win against Winthrop on Friday. He allowed just five hits and one walk in his day of work while striking out 10 batters. He retired the side in order in the second and third inning and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth. Marks struck out both batters faced in the seventh to end his quality start.
Radford:
- Senior outfielder Sean Cheely enters the weekend as the Highlanders' leader in multiple hitting statistics, and is coming off a 2-for-5, three-RBI day in Radford's midweek win against ETSU. Cheely leads the Highlanders in batting average (.330), hits (29), doubles (7), triples (3), homeruns (2), stolen bases (7), and slugging percentage (.545). He ranks third on the team in RBI (11), and fourth in on-base percentage (.385). He also currently leads the conference in hits and stolen bases, and ranks 10th in batting average.
- Straton Podaras has started all 22 games for the Highlanders this season either behind the dish or as the designated hitter. He's batting .269 on the year and leads the team in runs (17) and RBI (13) while ranking second in hits with 21. Podaras has tallied five doubles, a triple, and a homerun on the year.
Notes
- Upstate head coach Mike McGuire will look to claim his 400th career win this weekend against the Highlanders. He currently sits one win shy of the milestone with a career record of 399-286. Coach McGuire's all-time record at Upstate is 29-10.
- The Spartans continue to set the standard at the plate in the Big South Conference, and they enter the weekend series leading the Big South in batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.385), hits (196), runs (134), and RBI (120).
- Upstate's pitching staff sits atop the conference rankings in team ERA (2.23), opposing batting average (.216), strikeouts (196), runs given up (54), and earned runs given up (46).
- National rankings: first in team ERA (2.23), ninth in hit-by-pitch (43), 10th in team strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.70), and 16th in fielding percentage (.980).
UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans will travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech in a midweek matchup on Tuesday, April 6. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EST.
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