SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Heading to the first Sunday of the season with a chance to earn a sweep, USC Upstate baseball accomplished just that behind another stellar start on the mound from a debuting Spartan in a 10-2 victory over Towson Sunday.
Following the lead of Friday night's starting pitcher
Reese Dutton, junior left-hander
Henry Proger carried a perfect game through 5.2 innings before surrendering his first two baserunners and leaving one stranded with a strikeout as he worked 6.0 innings of one-hit, one-run baseball. The southpaw finished his afternoon with eight punchouts.
Backing Proger, the Spartan lineup produced an early lead, scoring five runs in the second inning before tacking on four more in the sixth and one in the seventh to hang 10 runs on the board—the first time scoring double-digit runs this season. Continuing his hot start to the season, senior centerfielder
Adam Grob picked up his third straight multi-RBI game, driving home two runs with a pair of sacrifice flies while graduate second baseman
Braxton Boddorf recorded his first multi-hit game in an Upstate uniform, going 2-for-4 on the day.
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 10; Towson 2
Records: USC Upstate (3-0; 0-0 Big South); Towson (0-4; 0-0 Colonial)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
Scoring Summary
- B2: Using three straight singles to open the inning, the Spartans cracked the scoring column as the third hit—from Braxton Boddorf—brought Al Holguin in to score. After loading the bases, two more Upstate runs came in thanks to a pair of wild pitches before Upstate capped the inning with two runs scoring by the benefit of a Towson error.
- T6: After seeing Henry Proger's perfect game busted with a walk, Towson's Casey Bishop busted up the no-hitter with a double down the rightfield line that plated James Moses from first and put the Tigers on the scoreboard.
- B6: Getting back the run surrendered in the top half of the frame, Adam Grob continued to drive in runs for the Spartans, using a sac fly to push across the first of four runs in the frame. A second run came in as pinch hitter Grant Sherrod drew an HBP with the bases loaded with Noah Sullivan driving home the inning's final two runs with a single into the right-center gap.
- B7: Tacking on the 10th and final run of the game for the Spartans, Grob secured his third straight multi-RBI game with a second sac fly to center with Cole Caruso racing home to score for the third time in the game.
- T9: Using a leadoff double to open the ninth, Towson used a sacrifice fly off the bat of pinch hitter Bobby Spencer to plate the game's final run.
Notable
- Picking up eight strikeouts in his USC Upstate debut, Henry Proger recorded the most strikeouts by a Spartan pitcher in his team debut since February 20, 2021, when Alex Garbrick struck out eight Toledo hitters.
- Adding 10 runs Sunday afternoon, the Spartans totaled 26 runs over its three-game series with Towson. The scoring total makes it three straight seasons scoring 26 or more runs in the season-opening series. With 26 runs in 2023 and 2021, Upstate swept both series, the two opening weekend sweeps under head coach Mike McGuire.
- With another pair of RBI in game three, Adam Grob secured his third straight multi-RBI game as he's driven in eight runs over the first three games of the season. The feat marks the second time in his career he's recorded consecutive multi-RBI games, also accomplishing the feat in a three-game series against North Carolina A&T last season.
Up Next for the Spartans
Hitting the road for the first time in the 2023 season, the Spartans travel to Jacksonville for a two-game midweek series at North Florida. The series begins Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET before wrapping Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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