ASHEVILLE, N.C. – USC Upstate baseball swept Friday's doubleheader at UNC Asheville to set a program record of 37 wins in a single season. The Spartans overcame a deficit in each contest, taking the first game of the day 4-3 before finishing off the series sweep with a 7-4 win to close the regular season with an overall record of 37-14 and 28-12 in conference play.
In game two, the Spartans entered the top of the ninth down 4-3 and exploded for four runs off seven hits for the record-breaking victory. Thirty-seven wins is the most all-time for the program, breaking the record of 36 wins that was set in 1987 by the then-USC Spartanburg Rifles.
"It was a good day of baseball today. We got two good starts on the mound from Alex Garbrick and Ben Ferrer. I thought for the most part we pitched well all day, and we swung the bats well but the runs were a little harder to come by today. I really liked how we responded there in the ninth inning of the second game after Asheville took the 4-3 lead. We kept putting at-bats together. We had some guys that haven't played that much step up like Chase Matheny, Easton Cullison, and Adam Grob, and that's good to be able to stretch the bench and rest some guys and not skip a beat. I think the best is yet to come for this club, and we're excited to go to Fayetteville next week and play in the Big South Tournament," said head coach Mike McGuire.
Jason Matthews led the Spartans at the plate on the day, going 8-for-10 with four hits in each game. He finished the day with two doubles, two runs scored, and a 1.000 slugging clip. Jack Hennessy joined Matthews with a solid day at the plate, hitting 6-for-9 with five runs scored. Devin Buckner drove in five runs across the two games.
Game One: Upstate 4, Asheville 3
Alex Garbrick started things off on the mound and settled in to retire three straight batters with a pair of strikeouts in the first inning after allowing back-to-back leadoff singles. He struck out two more in the second to help put the Bulldogs down in order, and pitched his way out of a jam in the fifth. Garbrick went 5.0 innings allowing just five hits, two runs with one earned, two walks, and striking out seven.
Austin Morgan took over in the sixth and retired the side in order before making way for Sean Hupp in the seventh with two outs and runners on first and second. After a three-run effort in the top of the seventh to give the Spartans the lead, Morgan earned the win to improve to 4-1 this season.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Davis took the hill with a one-run lead and runners on second and third and struck out the lone batter faced to pick up his first save of the day.
The Spartans got off to a slow start in game one, stranding five runners off six hits through the first three innings. Asheville took advantage of a couple free passes in the third to get on the board first with a pair of runs for a 2-0 lead.
The Spartans responded with another three up, three down inning in the bottom of the fourth, and broke through with their first run of the game in the fifth off a sac fly to deep center from Buckner.
Buckner struck again in the seventh after back-to-back singles from Hennessy and Matthews set him up for a go-ahead two-RBI double down the left field line, his 17th two-bagger of the year. Noah Rabon then drove in Buckner with a triple to the gap in right center to put the Spartans up 4-2.
Asheville got a run back off a sac fly in the bottom of the seventh, but the Spartans shut the Bulldogs down the rest of the way, starting with a strong defensive effort in the bottom of the eighth that saw a pair of strikeouts for Hupp and a fly out at the wall for Jeff Taylor in right field.
Game Two: Upstate 7, Asheville 4
Ben Ferrer started game two off with a three up, three down first inning and threw deep into the game, tossing 8.0 innings to get the win and improve his record to 4-2. Ferrer allowed just four runs and two walks while striking out six in his day of work.
Davis entered once again in the bottom of the ninth, this time to get the final three outs and pick up his second save of the day.
Hennessy got things going for the Spartans in the third inning with a leadoff single to right. He took second on a wild pitch and third on the errant throw down by Asheville's catcher, and then scored on another wild pitch to give Upstate the early 1-0 lead.
Three straight singles in the top of the fifth capped by an RBI single to center from Buckner to drive in Hennessy extended Upstate's lead to 2-0, but the Bulldogs responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to even things up.
Hennessy ripped his third hit of the day in the seventh, a single to left, before Matthews put runners on second and third with his 19th double of the season. Buckner then drove in his second run of the game with his second sac fly of the day to retake the lead for the Spartans, 3-2. The Bulldogs, however, once again answered to tie it up in the bottom of the inning, this time with a sac fly of their own, and took a 4-3 lead with another sac fly in the bottom of the eighth.
The Spartans responded in a big way in the top of the ninth as they pounded out seven hits for four runs. Matheny led off with a single to center followed by Hennessy's fourth hit of the game, another single to center, to set Matthews up for an RBI single to left to tie things up at 4-4. Rabon then scored Matthews from first with a double to right, and Cullison plated Rabon for his first-career RBI with a single to right. After a pitching change for the Bulldogs, Grob singled up the middle to knock in Julian Rip to add some security for the Spartans at 7-4.
UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans will head to Fayetteville, N.C. for the 2021 Ingles Big South Baseball Championship May 27-29. Tickets are on sale now, and more information can be found here.
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.
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