Tuesday's MatchUP
March 29, 2022 | 5:00 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (16-8; 5-1 Big South) at Kennesaw State (16-7; 6-0 ASUN)
Stillwell Baseball Stadium | Kennesaw, Ga.
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
USC Upstate | Kennesaw State
RHP Chase Matheny (0-0; 2.53 ERA) | RHP Makenzie Stills (1-0; 9.95 ERA)
 
Series History
Renewing a series between two former ASUN foes, USC Upstate and Kennesaw State are meeting for the 31^st time in the Spartans' Division I era and the first time since Upstate departed the ASUN following the 2018 season. Overall, the Owls lead the all-time series 22-8 with the program's last meeting in a three-game series in 2018.
 
Last Time Out
USC Upstate: vs. Radford (L, 3-1; W, 9-1; W, 10-7)
Kennesaw State: vs. North Florida (W, 10-6; W, 17-9; W, 13-9)
 
Players to Watch
USC Upstate:
Pitcher: Earning the first start on the bump of his Spartan career, redshirt junior right-hander Chase Matheny gets the ball for Upstate. On the year, he's made eight relief appearances on the mound, tossing 10.2 innings while surrendering seven hits and three runs while striking out seven. Matheny appeared in game two last weekend at Radford, throwing a scoreless inning with a strikeout.
 
Position Player: Swiping four bases in a three-game series, including a career-high three in game two against Radford, senior rightfielder Noah Myers enters the midweek ranked second in the Big South in total stolen bases with 11. A table-setter atop the order for the Spartans, he owns a .302 batting average and .417 on-base percentage as he leads the Big South with 29 runs scored, averaging a league-high 1.21 runs per contest.
 
Kennesaw State:
Pitcher: Picking up his second start of the season, righty Makenzie Stills takes the ball for the Owls Tuesday night. He enters sporting a 9.95 ERA over 6.1 innings pitched over four appearances. He's surrendered eight hits and eight runs (seven earned) while posting six strikeouts against six walks. His lone start of the year came against No. 12 Georgia Tech where he earned the win after tossing 3.0 innings, scattering five hits, and allowing two runs while collecting two strikeouts.
 
Position Player: Centerfielder Josh Hatcher enters Tuesday's midweek on a tear after earning Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Week honors Monday. Over four games last week, he hit for the cycle twice, doing so in the midweek against No. 12 Georgia Tech and once on the weekend against North Florida. He enters as the Owls' leading hitter, hitting .410 on the season with a team-best 13 doubles.
 
UP Next for the Spartans
Following Tuesday's midweek game, Upstate returns to Cleveland S. Harley Park for the first time during Big South play, hosting High Point on Homecoming Weekend. The Spartans and Panthers match up Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 4 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
 
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