SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate baseball begins its run at the 2021 Ingles Big South Championship Thursday night when the No. 2 seed Spartans face the No. 3 seed Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at SEGRA Stadium in Fayetteville, N.C. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. as Upstate looks for its first-ever Big South tournament win and first Division I conference tournament win since 2012.
This is just the fourth conference tournament appearance for the Spartans since joining the DI ranks ahead of the 2008 season. Upstate appeared in the ASUN tournament in 2012 and 2013, winning two games in 2012. Upstate appeared in the Big South tournament in 2019, dropping the first game to Charleston Southern.
Thursday's MatchUP
2021 Ingles Big South Baseball Championship
Thursday, May 27 | 7:00 p.m. EST
No. 2 USC Upstate (37-14, 28-12 BSC) vs. No. 3 Gardner-Webb (28-21, 27-13 BSC)
SEGRA Stadium | Fayetteville, N.C.
Projected Starting Pitchers
RHP Jordan Marks [10-1, 2.01 ERA, 100K] vs. RHP Mason Miller [7-1, 3.40 ERA, 109K]
Series History
The Spartans and Runnin' Bulldogs have met 27 times in Upstate's Division I history, with Gardner-Webb holding a 16-11 advantage in that span. Most recently, the Spartans took two of three from the Bulldogs at home earlier this season April 9-11 to snap a seven-game skid against Gardner-Webb. After dropping the first game of the series, Upstate erased a 7-1 deficit in a rain-delayed contest with a three-run blast off the scoreboard from Noah Rabon for a 9-8 win. In the series finale, the Spartans scored 10 unanswered runs, eight of them in the fifth inning, to take a 13-2 win in seven innings.
Last Time Out
The Spartans capped the regular season with a three-game road sweep over UNC Asheville this past weekend. Upstate routed the Bulldogs 14- 4 in the series opener on Friday night before overcoming deficits in both games of Saturday's doubleheader. In game two, the Spartans entered the top of the ninth down 4-3 and exploded for four runs off seven hits to secure the sweep.
The Runnin' Bulldogs are coming off a series win over Radford as they ended their regular season slate this past weekend. Gardner-Webb took Friday's game 10-8 and secured the series win by taking the first game of Saturday's twin bill, 7-5. The Highlanders took the nightcap by an 8-4 score.
Ones to Watch
Upstate:
- Jason Matthews was named Big South Player of the Week on Monday after starting his week off with a hit, two walks, and a stolen base in a midweek matchup at the University of Louisville before hitting .800 (12-for-15) in a three-game series at UNC Asheville. He pounded four hits in each game and racked up three doubles, four RBI, and three runs scored across the weekend. He had a pair of RBI singles and an RBI double in Friday's 14-4 win. In game one of Saturday's doubleheader, he laced a single to left field in the seventh inning and made it around to score the go-ahead run that made it a 3-2 ballgame, and Upstate would go on to win 4-3. In the series finale, the Spartans entered the top of the ninth down 4-3, but Matthews drove in the tying run before making it home for what would end up being the game-winning run in a 7-4 win.
- Jordan Marks recorded his 100th strikeout of the season Friday night and picked up the win to improve to a league-best 10-1 and become Upstate's all-time wins leader with 21 career wins. Marks threw 6.0 innings and retired the side in order in the first and third. He allowed just two walks, two runs, and four singles while striking out eight batters. He was named Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week for his efforts.
- Kevin Davis was named Relief Pitcher of the Week on Monday after he made two appearances in Saturday's doubleheader at Asheville and earned the save each time to bring his season total to a league-best 11, which ranks fourth all-time on Upstate's list of saves in a single season. He entered the first game in the bottom of the ninth with a 4-3 lead, two outs, and runners on second and third to strike out the lone batter faced. In game two, the Spartans entered the top of the ninth down 4-3 and scored four runs in the their half of the inning before Davis stepped on the get all three outs in the bottom of the ninth, facing just four batters and striking out two.
Gardner-Webb:
- Starting pitcher Mason Miller has been GWU's top arm throughout the season, posting a 7-1 record with a 3.40 ERA in 13 starts. He led the Big South with 109 strikeouts and held opposing batters to a league-low .211 average. Miller was second in the league in wins (7) and innings pitched (84.2).
- Outfielder Cam Pearcey has batted .336 on the season with six doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. He has driven in 30 runs and led the Big South with 17 stolen bases.
- Patrick Ferguson has been GWU's primary designated hitter all season, batting .299 with six doubles, two triples, and 13 home runs. He has a team-high 45 RBI and .633 slugging percentage, and ranks in the top-10 among all Big South batters in in home runs (13), slugging percentage (.633), RBI (45), and walks (29).
Spartans Rack up Postseason Accolades
The Big South Conference announced its annual awards Tuesday afternoon, and eight Spartans earned all-conference honors, headlined by Jordan Marks who was named Pitcher of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Joining Marks on the All-Conference First-Team is shortstop Jason Matthews and righty reliever Kevin Davis. Five Spartans earned Second-Team All-Conference honors, including outfielders Julian Rip and Jack Hennessy, third baseman Noah Rabon, designated hitter Devin Buckner, and RHP Alex Garbrick.
Notes
- With the series sweep against Asheville, the Spartans set a new program record for most wins in a single season. 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.
- In his outing against Asheville Friday night, Jordan Marks broke his third school record of the year, becoming the all-time wins leader in Upstate's program history with 21 career wins. His other two records came on May 7 at High point when he surpassed the school record for strikeouts and wins in a single season.
- Five Spartans are batting over .330 this season, led by Jason Matthews and Julian Rip who each boast a .350 average. Upstate is hitting.301 as a team, which ranks second overall in the Big South behind Campbell at .309 and ahead of Winthrop at .280. The Spartan bats also lead the conference and rank 14th in the nation in overall hits on the year. Matthews also leads the conference with 71 hits individually.
- The Spartan pitching staff leads the Big South with an overall ERA of 3.54, which ranks 17th in the nation. Upstate pitchers also lead the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.81), strikeouts per nine innings (9.0), WHIP (1.30), and walks allowed per nine innings (3.22).
Championship Schedule (Subject to change due to weather)
Thursday, May 27 (Games 1-2)
Game 1: No. 1 Campbell vs. No. 4 Presbyterian, 3:00pm – ESPN3
Game 2: No. 2 USC Upstate vs. No. 3 Gardner-Webb, 7:00pm – ESPN3
Friday, May 28 (Games 3-5)
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 11:00am (elimination game) – ESPN+
Game 4: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3:00pm – ESPN+
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 7:00pm (elimination game) – ESPN+
Saturday, May 29 (Championship Day)
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. Winner Game 5, 12:00pm – ESPNU
Game 7: If Necessary: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6, 4:00pm – ESPN+
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