Team Jace Rinehart Second Home Run Celebration vs. Northwestern 2023
Emily Rangel
0
Northwestern NU 0-6
9
Winner USC Upstate UPST 6-2
Northwestern NU
0-6
0
Final
9
USC Upstate UPST
6-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Northwestern NU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
USC Upstate UPST 4 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 X 9 9 0

W: Proger, Henry (2-0) L: Luke Benneche (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Two Homers from Jace Rinehart and a Grand Slam from Grant Sherrod Back Stellar Pitching in Baseball's 9-0 Shutout Win over Northwestern

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Looking to end the weekend and the OneSpartanburg, Inc. Baseball Classic on a strong note, USC Upstate baseball used the longball to back excellent starting pitching as Upstate shutout Northwestern Sunday to the tune of a 9-0 win at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
 
The bats set the tone early as the Spartans loaded the bases in the first inning with redshirt junior leftfielder Grant Sherrod providing the early advantage as he hit his second grand slam of the weekend with a deep drive to left. The fireworks continued for the Spartan offense throughout the day as sophomore catcher Jace Rinehart hit a pair of solo home runs as he reached base four times on the day, scoring three runs.
 
Following the lead of the offense, junior left-handed pitcher Henry Proger scattered three hits and five baserunners over 7.0 innings of work. From the fourth through seventh innings, he saw no more than three hitters per inning with just one hitter reaching base as Proger subsequently picked the runner off.  Giving way to the bullpen, sophomore right-handers Julian Parson and Noah Sullivan combined the toss 2.0 innings—going an inning apiece—closing out the Spartans' shutout.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 9; Northwestern 0
Records: USC Upstate (6-2; 0-0 Big South); Northwestern (0-6; 0-0 Big South)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
 
Scoring Summary
  • B1: After loading the bases with a pair of singles and a walk, Grant Sherrod stepped to the plate with two outs and unloaded on a baseball, driving it deep to left. The homer marked his second grand slam of the weekend and pushed Upstate out in front for good.
  • B2: Seeing the bases loaded for the second straight inning, Upstate plated another run in the second as Troy Hamilton lifted a ball to the track in left. Racing home was Jace Rinehart on the sac fly, extending the lead to 5-0.
  • B4: Leading off the bottom of the fourth and looking to get the Spartans on the board after failing to push anything across in the third, Rinehart hit a solo shot to the right of the scoreboard to hang another run.
  • B6: For the second time after not scoring in the previous inning, Rinehart put another run on the scoreboard as he hit his second solo homer to left-center.
  • B7: Taking advantage of an HBP and a fielding error, Upstate pushed two more runs across, scoring with a groundout off the bat of Braxton Boddorf and an RBI single to rightfield by Noah Sullivan.
 
Notable
  • Doing so in the first inning, Grant Sherrod hit his second grand slam of the weekend after hitting one Friday versus Michigan State. His two grand slams give Upstate a player with multiple grand slams for the second straight season, following Devin Buckner last season.
  • Hitting a pair of solo homers, one in the fourth and one in the seventh, Jace Rinehart secured his first career multi-homer game as he's hit three homers in five games this week. He joins Noah Sullivan as Spartans with a multi-homer game this season.
  • Getting 7.0 scoreless innings from Henry Proger and single scoreless innings from Julian Parson and Sullivan, Upstate notched its first shutout of the season. The game marked the first Spartan shutout since May 13, 2022, when Upstate blanked UNC Asheville.
  • Earning the win over Northwestern, Upstate has claimed nine wins over Power-Five opponents under head coach Mike McGuire, winning at least one Power-Five game in each of his four seasons at Upstate. In his head coaching career, his teams have earned 16 Power-Five wins.
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Coming off a five-game week, the Spartans return to action Tuesday afternoon with a trip to Fluor Field in Greenville to host Clemson. First pitch between Upstate and the Tigers is set for 4 p.m. with tickets available for purchase through the baseball schedule page.
 
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