Weekend Series
May 12-14, 2023 | 5:00 p.m. / 4:00 p.m. / 1 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (32-17; 17-4 Big South) at Charleston Southern (20-24; 11-10 Big South)
Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark | Charleston, S.C.
 
TV: ESPN+ | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App
 
Probable Starting Pitchers
USC Upstate | Charleston Southern
Game One: RHP Reese Dutton (8-3; 3.22 ERA) | LHP Kaleb Hill (3-2; 5.06 ERA)
Game Two: LHP Henry Proger (7-4; 4.06 ERA) | To Be Announced
Game Three: RHP Mathieu Curtis (5-2; 5.98 ERA) | To Be Announced
 
Series History
Entering the weekend with the series tied at 16 wins apiece, USC Upstate and Charleston Southern meet for the 33^rd, 34^th, and 35^th times in the Spartans' Division I era (2007-pres.). The two teams met four times last season with the Spartans sweeping the regular season series at Harley Park, but the Buccaneers took the meeting in the 2022 Big South Baseball Championship to even the series.
 
Last Time Out
May 10, 2023: Georgia 9; USC Upstate 2
May 7, 2023: High Point 7; Charleston Southern 3
 
Players to Watch
USC Upstate:
Pitcher: After tossing a career-long 8.0 innings while striking out a career-best 10 batters last Saturday at Gardner-Webb, earning Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week accolades for the fourth time this season—tied for the most in a single-season by an Upstate pitcher since joining the conference. He scattered five hits and six baserunners, striking out multiple hitters in each of his first four innings and rolling up double plays in each of his last two innings. He enters his 13^th start of the season holding a 7-4 record and 4.06 ERA over 68.2 innings of work, striking out 63 hitters on the year.
 
Position Player: Recording his sixth multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-4 night against Georgia Wednesday, sophomore catcher Jace Rinehart extended his team and career-long hitting streak to 13 games. During the streak, he's hitting .414 (17-for-41) with three doubles and two home runs, homering in consecutive games for the first time in his career with a solo shot at Georgia. On the year, he's slashing .349/.446/.602 while homering five times and driving home 23.
 
Charleston Southern:
Pitcher: After pitching for the Czech Republic in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, right-hander Daniel Padysak returned as one of the top bullpen arms for the Buccaneers this season, pitching to a 1.73 ERA over 14 appearances. Over 36.1 innings, he's limited opponents to a .194 batting average while striking out 46 hitters, averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023.
 
Position Player: Hitting in the middle of the order for Charleston Southern, utility man Jaylin Rae is the only Buccaneer to start 40-plus games this season and one of two to play in 40 or more games. He leads the team with a slash line of .388/.475/.503 as he has 26 more hits (57) than his next closest teammate and leads Charleston Southern with nine doubles. Driving in 27 runs this year, he enters the weekend one RBI off the team lead.
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Coming off the team's penultimate Big South series, Upstate hits the road for the final time in the midweek, travelling to Clemson for a rematch with the Tigers. First pitch between the Spartans and Tigers is slated for 6 p.m. ET Tuesday.
 
Connect with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans 
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