Jace Rinehart First HR Trot vs. Western Carolina Game 1 2024
Emma Hudson
9
Western Carolina WCU 3-1
16
Winner USC Upstate UPST 1-3
Western Carolina WCU
3-1
9
Final
16
USC Upstate UPST
1-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Western Carolina WCU 0 3 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 9 14 3
USC Upstate UPST 2 2 2 0 5 0 2 3 X 16 16 0

W: Jefferis, Jagger (1-0) L: Griffin Guinther (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Season-Best Offensive Output Driven By Nine Extra-Base Hits and Multi-Homer Game From Jace Rinehart Spurs Midweek Victory over Western Carolina

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Competing in the midweek for the first time during the 2024 season, USC Upstate baseball earned its way into the win column as it pounded out a midweek victory as it hung 16 runs on the scoreboard, outlasting Western Carolina for a 16-9 win Wednesday afternoon at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
 
Of the team's 16 hits against the Catamounts, nine went for extra bases as three Spartans concluded the afternoon with multiple extra-base hits, chief among them a multi-homer game from junior leftfielder Jace Rinehart—the second multi-homer game of his career. Redshirt seniors, first baseman Grant Sherrod and catcher David Pereira each tallied two doubles with Sherrod collecting two doubles in a game for the second time in his career and Pereira the first time in his career.
 
On the mound, four Spartan pitchers combined to strike out 13 batters, the most strikeouts in a game for the Upstate pitching staff since May 18, 2023 (14 K vs. Campbell), as each pitcher collected multiple punchouts. Three of the four arms gathered career-high strikeout totals, headlined by four strikeouts from senior left-hander Jagger Jefferis, doing so over a career-long 4.0 innings of work.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 16; Western Carolina 9
Records: USC Upstate (1-3; 0-0 Big South); Western Carolina (3-1; 0-0 SoCon)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
  • B1: Giving Upstate its first lead of the day—and of the season—Daniel Gernon and Troy Hamilton went back-to-back with hits on the first pitch. Hamilton's hit escaped the ballpark as it exited in left-center to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead.
  • T2: Sending nine batters to the plate in the frame, Western Carolina answered Upstate's two-spot as it took advantage of four walks in the inning, three with the bases loaded, to score three tallies and take the lead.
  • B2: Using three extra-base hits in the inning, Upstate hung another two runs on the board. Following a double from David Pereira, Vance Sheahan doubled home the first run before coming in later in the frame behind a triple from Gernon.
  • B3: Tacking on two additional tallies, Jace Rinehart slugged the first of his two home runs, hammering the first pitch of his second at-bat to straightaway center.
  • T4: Seeing another nine hitters step to the plate, the Catamounts battled back to the lead behind five hits, a walk, and a wild pitch in the fourth frame. Western Carolina tallied four runs in the fourth to stake a 7-6 advantage.
  • T5: Adding to its lead, Western Carolina added a run in the inning via a sacrifice fly, building its largest lead of the night.
  • B5: Batting around for the first time, Upstate retook the lead for good in the fifth behind a five-spot with Rinehart kickstarting the inning with a solo shot to center. The Spartans' next four runs came with the bases loaded, sandwiching an HBP with two walks with things juiced before Grant Sherrod's single plated the inning's final tally.
  • B7: Adding two more runs to the lead, Rinehart grabbed his fourth RBI on a fielder's choice before Noah Sullivan drove home a run with a single into center.
  • T8: Western Carolina pushed across its final run in the eighth using a groundout to first.
  • B8: Upstate capped the night's scoring with three runs in the eighth to answer the Catamounts run in the previous half-inning. Sherrod drove home the first with a single to left before Kyle Henington plated two with a single through the right side.
 
Notable
  • With his latest multi-home run game, Jace Rinehart secured the Spartans' first multi-homer effort since his last on Feb. 26, 2023, versus Northwestern. He also tied a career-high with his four RBI against Western Carolina.
  • Collecting nine extra-base hits Wednesday, Upstate's total marked the most by the club in a single game since posting 10 extra-base knocks against The Citadel on March 14, 2023. The Spartans clubbed five doubles, a triple, and three home runs versus Western Carolina.
  • Hitting three long balls against the Catamounts, Upstate has hit multiple home runs in consecutive games for the first time since March 24-25, 2023, at High Point. Their past two games mark the first time the Spartans have hit multiple homers in consecutive home games since doing so against Gardner-Webb on March 29-30, 2019.
  • Securing a hit against Western Carolina, Vance Sheahan pushed his hitting streak to four games to begin his collegiate career. His four-game hitting streak to begin his career is the longest by a Spartan since teammate Noah Sullivan fashioned a five-game hitting streak to his freshman season in 2022.
  • Troy Hamilton and Jace Rinehart upped their reached base streaks to 11 games each versus the Catamounts, the longest active streaks by a Spartan. Rinehart pushed his hitting streak to nine games, also the longest active streak by a Spartan.
  • Two additional Spartans made their USC Upstate debuts Wednesday against Western Carolina as Bradley Garner and Darin Kuskie became the seventh and eighth Spartans to do so this season.
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Closing the team's seven-game homestand to begin the season, Upstate hosts the OneSpartanburg, Inc. Baseball Classic this weekend at Cleveland S. Harley Park. The Spartans host Quinnipiac Friday, Canisius Saturday, and Saint Joseph's Sunday in the three-day event.
 
Connect with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
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