SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Completing the team's second weekend sweep and the team's first weekend series sweep of the season, USC Upstate baseball saw all nine starters pick up at least a hit and score at least one run as Upstate earned another comeback victory, using a big fifth inning to do so in a 16-10 series-closing victory over Rider Sunday afternoon at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
Finding themselves down one heading into the home half of the fifth, the Spartans used the team's largest inning in recent memory as 19 batters stepped to the plate and Upstate scored 13 runs, batting around twice as each member of the team's starting lineup scored a run in the inning.
Three Spartans finished the day posting both a multi-hit and multi-RBI effort with five players registering a multi-hit and three players recording a multi-RBI day. Redshirt junior rightfielder
Koby Kropf, freshman third baseman
Vance Sheahan, and redshirt senior first baseman
Grant Sherrod collected both a multi-hit and multi-RBI effort, each recording two hits and Kropf and Sheahan notching three RBI apiece to lead the team.
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 16; Rider 10
Records: USC Upstate (9-7; 0-0 Big South); Rider (1-9; 0-0 MAAC)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
How It Happened
- B1: Putting the Spartans on the board first for the first time in the series, Jace Rinehart drove in his first run of the game as a single through the right side scored Troy Hamilton from second.
- T3: Answering Upstate's run and taking the lead for the final time in the three-game set, Rider put three on the board as Erich Hartmann launched a three-run homer to right.
- B4: Closing a stretch of three straight hitters picking up a hit, Tyler Lang pulled Upstate within one as his single through the left side plated Koby Kropf.
- B5: Batting around twice and sending 19 hitters to the plate, the Spartans scored 13 times in the fifth, the team's highest-scoring inning of the season. During the frame, all nine Upstate starters scored at least one run with Koby Kropf and Vance Sheahan driving home three runs each in the inning.
- T6: Responding to the Spartans' big inning, the Broncs scored three runs and sent nine batters to the plate. Rider took advantage of five hits in the frame to score their first two runs before a bases-loaded walk added the inning's final tally.
- B6: Getting one of the runs surrendered in the previous inning back, Bradley Garner drove home his first career run as Jace Rinehart crossed the plate on a groundout to first.
- T9: Posting its highest-scoring inning of the game, Rider sent 10 batters to the plate as it pushed across four runs in the inning. The Broncs used five hits and two free bases in the frame to score its tallies.
Notable
- In the series-closing victory Sunday against Rider, each member of the team's starting lineup recorded a hit and scored a run, the first time the feat has been accomplished in the same game this season. Each member of the starting lineup scored at least once in the team's 13-run fifth inning as the Spartans sent 19 batters to the plate in the inning.
- Picking up a pair of doubles, Koby Kropf extended his hitting and reached base streaks to 12 games, the longest active streak by a Spartan this season. His 12-game streaks mark the longest streaks by an Upstate player completed contained within the 2024 season.
- Entering the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, Cooper Zohner became the 11th Spartan to make his USC Upstate debut during the 2024 season.
Up Next for the Spartans
Beginning another five-game week, Upstate continues its eight-game homestand with a two-game midweek series at Cleveland S. Harley Park. The Spartans host Tennessee Tech for the midweek set Tuesday and Wednesday with first pitch for both games slated for 3 p.m. ET.
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