Midweek MatchUP
Tuesday, April 13 | 6:00 p.m. EST
USC Upstate (21-7, 13-7 BSC) at Wofford College (18-12, 7-5 SoCON)
Russell C. King Field | Spartanburg, S.C.

Fan Attendance Notice
Wofford is not allowing the general public to attend games. However, parents of student-athletes may attend. Masks are required of everyone on Wofford's campus at all times, enforced by campus safety.

TV: ESPN+ | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App

Projected Starting Pitchers
LHP Sawyer Worrell [1-0, 2.61 ERA, 19K] vs. LHP Dom Argon [1-0, 4.91 ERA, 3K]

Series History
The Spartans and Terriers have met 22 times on the diamond, dating back to the first matchup between the two clubs on February 26, 2008. Wofford won that contest 10-8 at home, and currently holds the advantage in the series 13-9, although the series is tied 5-5 in the last 10 matchups. The Spartans won the most recent meeting 11-6 at Harley Park back on February 25, 2020.

Last Time Out
Upstate is coming off a huge home series win over Big South Conference foe Gardner-Webb that allowed the Spartans to take sole possession of first place in the Big South Standings. The Spartans fell 8-5 to the Runnin' Bulldogs in the series opener due to some uncharacteristic defensive mistakes and the inability to find timely hits.

Game two of the weekend series began much like game one, with Gardner-Webb jumping out to a 7-1 lead through five and a half innings behind a couple of timely GWU hits and four errors by the Spartans. The Spartans began to show signs of life at the plate in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings, plating a combined three runs to cut the Runnin' Bulldogs lead to 7-4 after seven. Heavy rain began to fall at Harley Park in the top of the eighth, and the game was subsequently suspended until 1 p.m. on Sunday. The 21-hour delay seemed to do the Spartans some good, and, although Gardner-Webb would score a run in the top of the eighth to stretch their lead to 8-4, Noah Rabon then stepped to the plate in the bottom of the inning with runners on the corners and delivered with a three-run, go-ahead bomb over the left field fence. With the Spartans leading 9-8 headed into the top of the ninth, closer Kevin Davis entered the game in relief of Jake Cubbler and picked up his fourth save of the season as the Spartans completed the comeback win.

In the series finale, Upstate jumped out to an early 3-0 lead by way of RBIs from Julian Rip and Jason Matthews before Rip stole home on a double steal. The two sides would trade blows in the third, but Rabon crushed a leadoff solo shot over the scoreboard to start the fifth inning, and following an error by the Gardner-Webb right fielder, the Spartans would bat around and score an additional seven unearned runs to blow the game wide open. Gardner-Webb was unable to mount any resistance, and the game finished 13-2 in seven innings.

Wofford comes into Tuesday's matchup having taken two of three from SoCON foe East Tennessee State on the road this past weekend. The Terriers won 3-2 on Saturday night in ten innings by way of a throwing error by the ETSU first baseman. The Terriers were not as fortunate in game two, as they fell behind early and, despite cutting the deficit to 5-4 in the fifth, were unable to make up enough ground and fell to ETSU 7-4. Game three saw both offenses come alive, and the Terriers plated 11 runs on 21 hits to win 11-9 and take the series.

Ones to Watch
Upstate:

• Jeff Taylor continues to lead the Spartans at the plate, and he enters Tuesday's game having gone 5-for-10 at the plate with three runs, five RBI, and a home run against Gardner-Webb this past weekend. Taylor leads the Spartans in batting average (.369), OPS (1.062), and slugging percentage (.615), and carries a four-game hit streak into Tuesday's game. Taylor has batted .500 at the plate over the past week, including a 1-for-2 effort with a sac fly and walk in last Tuesday's matchup at Georgia Tech.
• Devin Buckner continued his strong season at the plate this past weekend against Gardner-Webb, as he went 5-for-13 with three RBI, two runs, and two doubles. He has now safely reached base in 16 straight games. Buckner currently ranks second on the Spartan roster in batting average at .343, and enters the matchup against Wofford having batted .353 over the past week against Georgia Tech and Gardner-Webb combined. Buckner leads the Spartans in walks with 20, and is second on the team in hits (34), RBI (26), and OPS (.956). Buckner's strong season at the plate is also reflected in the Big South Conference's statistical rankings, as he ranks fourth in the conference in hits and RBI, and ranks tenth in batting average.
• Noah Rabon enters the weekend having homered in back-to-back games on Sunday. His three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth of game two completed the Spartans' comeback, and set the tone for the Spartans' huge offensive effort in game three. Rabon also saw his on-base streak extend to 19 games this past weekend. He currently ranks fifth on Upstate's roster in batting average at .308, and he leads the Spartans in slugging percentage at .51, and home runs at 3. Additionally, Rabon's 32 hits on the season rank third on the Spartan roster and fourth in the Big South Conference.

Wofford:

• Colin Davis enters the midweek matchup on the back of a 6-for-13 weekend at the plate against ETSU, including a 4-for-5 effort in game two of the series. Davis sits atop the roster in almost every major offensive statistical category, ranking first in batting average (.365), OPS (1.089), runs (28), hits (42), doubles (12), home runs (7), RBI (29), and slugging percentage (.670). Davis is also a perfect 10-10 on stolen base attempts this season. His stats also stack up well against other hitters in the Southern Conference, as he ranks second in the league in home runs, third in hits, fifth in RBI, and sixth in batting average.
• Nolen Hester is another highly potent offensive threat for the Terriers. His .344 batting average and .444 slugging percentage both rank second on Wofford's roster, and he's also tied for second on the team in hits with 31. Hester is coming off a 5-for-14 weekend against ETSU, and had a 4-for-5 effort in game two of the weekend series.

Notes

• With a win on Tuesday night, the Spartans would move to 5-0 in midweek matchups this season. They enter Tuesday night's game a perfect 10-0 in midweek games under head coach Mike McGuire and his staff.
• Upstate's offense continues to rank highly in the Big South Conference, as the Spartans currently rank first in hits (276), second in team batting average (.290), second in on-base percentage (.385), second in slugging percentage (.403), second in runs (180), and second in RBI (162).
• The pitching staff continues to pace the Big South Conference, ranking first in team ERA (2.55), first in opposing batting average (.224), first in runs allowed (86), first in earned runs allowed (70), first in strikeouts (259), and first in strikeouts per nine innings (9.45).
• National Rankings: Third in team ERA (2.55), eighth in hit-by-pitch (55), 16th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.32), 33rd in RPI, 35th in in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.

UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans will continue on the road this weekend with a three-game series at Charleston Southern on Friday, April 16 and Saturday, April 17. Upstate will play a single game on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by a doubleheader on Saturday with game one beginning at 1 p.m. and the series finale to follow.

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