2022 Ingles Big South Baseball Championship
May 25-28, 2022 | 3:00 p.m. ET (Game One; May 26)
Game One: No. 2 USC Upstate (34-20-1; 17-6-1 Big South) vs. No. 6 Gardner-Webb (23-34; 11-13 Big South)
Game Two: No. 2 USC Upstate (35-20-1; 17-6-1 Big South) vs. No. 5 Charleston Southern (23-28; 13-11 Big South)
Truist Point | High Point, N.C.
 
TV: ESPN+ | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App
Audio: Spartan Sports Network | UpstateSpartans.com
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
USC Upstate | Opponent
Game One: RHP Noah Sullivan (6-0; 3.46 ERA) | LHP Tyler Switalski (5-4; 4.11 ERA)
Game Two: RHP Jacob Curry (5-3; 4.91 ERA) | RHP Chandler Woolridge (1-0; 4.91 ERA)
 
Series History
vs. Gardner-Webb: For the second consecutive season, USC Upstate opens the Big South Baseball Championship against rival Gardner-Webb, meeting the Runnin' Bulldogs for the 33^rd time in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.). The Runnin' Bulldogs lead the series 18-14 and Gardner-Webb did win the lone meeting between the two programs in 2021, but the Spartans have taken five of the last eight meetings. The Spartans took three of four meetings this season, winning a midweek contest on April 20 before taking both ends of a doubleheader on April 30.

vs. Charleston Southern: Continuing play in the 2022 Ingles Big South Baseball Championship, USC Upstate meets Charleston Southern for the 32nd time in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.). The Spartans lead the series 16-15 after an Easter weekend sweep of the Bucaneers earlier this season. Prior to the sweep, Charleston Southern had taken six of the last eight meetings between the clubs since Upstate joined the Big South, including a victory in the opening round of the 2019 Big South Baseball Championship.
 
Last Time Out
USC Upstate: vs. No. 6 Gardner-Webb (W, 4-2)
Gardner-Webb: vs. No. 3 UNC Asheville (W, 4-0)
Charleston Southern: vs. No. 1 Campbell (W, 7-6)
 
Players to Watch
USC Upstate:
Pitcher: In addition to being one of the top freshman hitters in the Big South, leading the league's freshmen in hits (65) and RBI (40), freshman right-handed pitcher Noah Sullivan, the Big South's Freshman of the Year, also leads all conference freshmen in pitching victories with six. On the year, he's 6-0 through eight appearances, posting a 3.46 ERA and .172 opponents' batting average. Sullivan has won each of his last three starts and closed the regular season with a victory at Ohio State, tossing 5.0 innings while surrendering three hits and three runs while striking out two.
Position Player: Joining Big South Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-Big South designated hitter Noah Sullivan with All-Conference honors, senior outfielder Noah Myers (First Team), redshirt sophomore outfielder Noah Rabon (First Team), and senior catcher Devin Buckner (Second Team) each claimed All-Conference honors Tuesday. Myers enters the postseason with a D1-era single-season record 20 steals, Rabon enters with a D1-era single-season record 55 RBI, and Buckner enters with a D1-era single-season record 61 runs and 22 HBP.
 
Gardner-Webb:
Pitcher: After earning Second Team All-Big South honors, right-hander Joe Simeone tossed a complete-game three-hitter to push Gardner-Webb past No. 3 seed UNC Asheville Wednesday night in the opening round of the Big South Championship. He earned his ninth win of the season as he picked up another eight strikeouts against the Bulldogs, upping his league-leading total to 116 punchouts this season. Simeone also paces the Big South in innings pitched, going over 100 total innings this year with 105.1 innings.
 
Position Player: Adding to Simeone's selection as a Second Team All-Big South performer, outfielder Curtis Robison and first baseman Alec Burns also garnered Second Team All-Conference selections. Robison lead the Big South in the regular season with 38 walks while ranking second in the league in steals (24) and doubles (17) while Burns led Gardner-Webb with a .320 average with 14 homers and 43 RBI. The duo combined to go 1-for-7 with an RBI in the Runnin' Bulldogs' opening round game.

Charleston Southern:
Pitcher: Earning Big South All-Academic Team honors, Krishna Raj represents Charleston Southern's lone All-Conference pitcher. The right-hander leads the Buccaneers in earned run average, posting a 3.08 ERA and a 2-1 record with three saves over 17 total appearances in 2022. He held opponents to a .217 batting average while striking out 28 over 26.1 innings of work.

Position Player: The Buccaneers featured a pair of All-Big South position players as outfielder Hayden Harris garnered a Second Team All-Conference nod while outfielder Ryan Waldschmidt earned Big South All-Freshman team accolades. Harris enters Friday's game ranked second on the Charleston Southern club in batting average, hitting .325 with 10 doubles and six homers this season while Waldschmidt leads Charleston Southern in RBI (41), home runs (nine), and stolen bases (17) this year.
 
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