Weekend Series
April 1-3, 2022 | 6 p.m. / 4 p.m. / 2 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (16-9; 5-1 Big South) vs. High Point (9-16; 4-2 Big South)
Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
TV: ESPN+ | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
USC Upstate | High Point
Game One: RHP Jacob Curry (1-1; 5.12 ERA) | RHP Carter Sheppard (2-2; 3.81 ERA)
Game Two: RHP Austin Morgan (3-1; 6.04 ERA) | RHP Teddy Merritt (3-3; 8.07 ERA)
Game Three: RHP Trey Miller (1-1; 3.94 ERA) | LHP Sam Garcia (1-2; 1.78 ERA)
 
Series History
Meeting in a three-game series this weekend, USC Upstate and High Point are meeting for the 12^th, 13^th, and 14^th time in the Spartans' Division I era. The two programs met for a pair of midweek games during the 2008 season before renewing the series in 2019 as the Spartans joined the Big South. Overall, Upstate leads the series 7-4 and has won five straight after going 5-1 against the Panthers in 2021.
 
Last Time Out
USC Upstate: vs. Kennesaw State (L, 5-4 [11])
High Point: vs. Elon (L, 7-0)
 
Players to Watch
USC Upstate:
Pitcher: Earning Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week accolades after striking out eight in a career-high 7.0 innings last weekend versus Radford, senior right-hander Austin Morgan takes the ball in game two for the Spartans. Through two starts during conference play, he's struck out a league-high 17 batters over 13.1 innings of work, averaging 11.48 strikeouts per nine during league play. Overall, he sports a 3-1 record in seven starts, striking out 31 (9.85 K/9) over 28.1 innings while holding opponents to a .295 batting average.
 
Position Player: Going 2-for-6 with a pair of doubles against Kennesaw State Tuesday, freshman designated hitter Noah Sullivan collected his team-best 11^th multi-hit game of the season while extending his team-long reached base streak to nine games. He enters the weekend series leading the Spartans in batting average, hitting .340 (32-of-94) as he also ranks second in the NCAA in hit-by-pitch, being struck by 14 this year.
 
High Point:
Pitcher: Collecting a save over each of his past four outings, righty Everett Vaughan enters the weekend tied for the Big South lead with four saves. He owns a 1-1 record and 6.11 ERA over 17.2 innings of work this year, striking out 13 against seven walks over 11 total outings. He picked up a pair of saves in High Point's series against Winthrop last weekend.
 
Position Player: Collecting a team-high 26 hits over 86 at-bats this season, designated hitter Peyton Carr sports High Point's lone average above .300 (among qualified hitters). He carries a team-high six multi-hit and five multi-RBI games into the weekend series as he has driven in 18 runs and scored 13 more this season. He also ranks second on the Panther club in total extra-base hits with eight (four doubles and three home runs).
 
UP Next for the Spartans
Coming off the weekend's three-game set against High Point, Upstate embarks back on the road, travelling to No. 22 Georgia Tech. First pitch of Tuesday's game is slated for 6 p.m. ET with the game airing on ACC Network Extra.
 
JOIN UP
Make a difference in the lives of USC Upstate student-athletes! Donate to the USC Upstate U Club today!
 
Sparty's Ball and Auction:
Reserve your tickets for Sparty's Ball and Auction featuring The Andrews Brothers Dueling Pianos, Saturday, May 21, 2022 at upstatespartans.com/spartysball.

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