Weekend Series
March 3-5; 2023 | 7:00 p.m. / 4:00 p.m. / 2:00 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (7-2; 0-0 Big South) vs. Troy (8-0; 0-0 Sun Belt)
Riddle-Pace Field | Troy, Ala.
 
TV: ESPN+ | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
USC Upstate | Troy
Game One: RHP Reese Dutton (1-1; 3.00 ERA) | RHP Brady Fuller (0-0; 4.22 ERA)
Game Two: RHP Chase Matheny (0-1; 5.23 ERA) | RHP Zach Fruit (0-0; 9.82 ERA)
Game Three: LHP Henry Proger (2-0; 0.69 ERA) | RHP Grayson Stewart (2-0; 1.80 ERA)
 
Series History
Meeting in a three-game weekend series, USC Upstate and Troy have never met in the Spartans' Division I era (2007-pres.). Despite not meeting Troy, Upstate owns a 6-4 record against the current membership of the Sun Belt while head coach Mike McGuire owning a 7-4 record in his coaching career against the conference.
 
Last Time Out
February 28, 2023: USC Upstate 6; Clemson 3
February 28, 2023: Troy 8; UAB 7
 
Players to Watch
USC Upstate
Pitcher: Tossing 7.0 scoreless innings in Upstate's 9-0 shutout victory over Northwestern, junior left-handed pitcher Henry Proger earned Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week honors. He allowed just five baserunners as he recorded his second consecutive quality start. With the accolade, he is the first Spartan starting pitcher to earn the honor in consecutive weeks and the second Upstate player to earn a conference weekly award in consecutive weeks since joining the Big South.
 
Position Player: Hitting two grand slams and driving home 10 runs last week, redshirt junior outfielder Grant Sherrod brought home Big South Player of the Week honors. He picked up three multi-RBI games during a five-game week for the Spartans and collected a career-high four hits against Toledo Saturday. With the first Big South weekly honor of his career, Sherrod is the ninth Spartan to earn the honor since Upstate joined the conference ahead of the 2018-19 season.
 
Troy
Pitcher: Working five innings of four-hit, one-run (the run was unearned) baseball last Sunday versus Stony Brook, right-hander Grayson Stewart earned his second victory of the year. While striking out just one batter, he cut his earned run average in half, dropping it to 1.80 entering the weekend. On the year, he's tossed 10.0 innings, holding opponents to a .256 batting average while owning two of Troy's three wins by a starting pitcher this season.
 
Position Player: Leading the Trojans in five offensive categories, first baseman William Sullivan—the brother of Upstate's Noah Sullivan—represents the top hitter for Troy this season. He leads the team with a .483 batting average and 1.069 slugging percentage as eight of his 14 hits have gone for extra bases, including four homers, one off the team lead. He's scored a team-best 13 runs this year and ranks second on the club with 11 RBI.
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Upon returning from the team's first midweek road trip of the season, the Spartans return to Cleveland S. Harley Park and Fluor Field for a pair of midweek games. The week opens with Sacred Heart coming to Spartanburg for a 3 p.m. first pitch Tuesday before the Spartans host South Carolina Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Fluor Field.
 
Connect with the Spartans 
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans 
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