A Career-High Nine Strikeouts from Austin Morgan and More Late-Inning Run Production Leads Baseball to a Series-Clinching 5-4 Victory over Presbyterian

Saturday, March 19

Clinton, S.C.

3:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

13-6, 0

Presbyterian

8-11, 0

USC Upstate

Presbyterian College

Photo by: Xavi Wences

3/19/2022 7:10:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

CLINTON, S.C. – Continuing its series with Presbyterian and looking for a series victory in the team's first Big South Conference series of the season, USC Upstate baseball battled back and took the lead late to secure a 5-4 victory Saturday afternoon and take a two games to none lead in the series with the Blue Hose.

After surrendering four hits and three runs over the first two frames, senior right-hander Austin Morgan settled in for a career-long outing as he tossed 6.1 innings to earn his second victory of the year while also racking up a career-best nine strikeouts. Over his final 4.1 innings of work, he allowed just five baserunners and one run for the Spartans.

At the plate, Upstate did its job at the plate by getting guys on, getting them over, and getting them in, scoring two runs on groundouts and another on a wild pitch to carry a 3-3 deadlock into the seventh inning. For the second straight game, senior rightfielder Noah Myers drove home the go-ahead run, doing so Saturday with a single through the right side. Redshirt sophomore leftfielder Noah Rabon added an insurance run as he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 5; Presbyterian 4
Records: USC Upstate (13-6; 2-0 Big South); Presbyterian (8-11; 0-2 Big South)
Location: PC Baseball Complex | Clinton, S.C.

Scoring Summary

B1: Opening the scoring for the second straight game, Presbyterian found itself on the board behind a sacrifice fly from Kyle Merkle and an RBI double down the rightfield line from Jack Gorman.
T2: Upstate immediately got both runs back in the second as Jack Hennessy groundout to second with runners at second and third, bringing in Cole Caruso. Troy Hamilton later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.
B2: The Blue Hose regained the lead in the next half inning as Jeremiah Boyd hit a solo homer to left to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.
T3: Continuing a streak of four consecutive half innings with a run scored, Noah Myers who walked and stole second came in following two straight groundouts with Noah Sullivan collecting the RBI.
T7: Taking the lead for good, Upstate broke out and tallied a pair of runs in the seventh. Singling through the right side, Myers broke the 3-3 tie as Hennessy scored from second. Working the bases loaded against the Blue Hose bullpen, Noah Rabon was hit by a pitch, scoring Myers to build a 5-3 Spartan advantage.
B7: Presbyterian closed the deficit in the bottom of the seventh as Brody Fahr drove in a run with a single up the middle.

Notable

Tossing 6.1 innings on 90 pitches, Austin Morgan turned in a career-long outing based on both total innings and pitch count. He also struck out nine batters to just one walk as his punchout total also stands as a career-high.
Earning his fourth save of the season, Kevin Davis earned the save in back-to-back games in a series for the third time in his Upstate career. This weekend's occurrence marks the first since saving both ends of a doubleheader at UNC Asheville on May 21, 2021.
Finishing the afternoon 2-for-4, Noah Sullivan collected his team-leading 10^th multi-hit game of the season. Jack Hennessy also concluded 2-for4 Saturday, securing his fourth multi-hit effort of the year.

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