FAYETTVILLE, N.C. – The No. 2 Spartans fell short in their second game of the Big South Baseball Championship Saturday afternoon against top-seeded Campbell, 5-3. With the loss, USC Upstate's record-breaking season comes to a close at a 37-16 overall mark.
Upstate got down early, falling behind 3-0 after two innings. The Spartans fought their way back to tie things up at 3-3 in the fourth, but a two-run blast from Campbell in the fifth would give the Camels the lead back for good.
Brady Garrison entered the game in the top of the third inning and got things going for the Spartans with a double off the wall in left center before he made it to third on Jack Hennessy's groundout to short. Julian Rip extended his on-base streak to 20 games with a walk to get runners on the corners, and then a wild pitch from Ryan Chasse allowed Garrison to score and Rip to take second. Right after that, Devin Buckner smacked a two-out double down the left field line to drive in Rip and pull the Spartans with one run at 3-2.
In the top of the fourth, Cameron MacIntosh doubled to the gap in right center before Hennessy drilled a two-out single right back up the middle that sent MacIntosh home with the game-tying run.
On the mound, Austin Morgan entered the game in the bottom of the second with bases loaded and two outs, and he forced a groundout to get out of the jam without any more damage. He worked a scoreless third and fourth and ended his 3.2 inning effort with three strikeouts alongside just one walk and one earned run.
Kevin Davis came on in the bottom of the sixth with one out and runners on the corners and struck out back-to-back batters to end the inning. He closed things out for the Spartans and delivered three strikeouts in 2.2 innings while allowing zero runs and just one walk.
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