Noah Sullivan Pre-2nd Inning vs. Gardner-Webb Gm 1 2024
Emily Rangel
0
Gardner-Webb GWUBASE 6-11, 0-1 BSC
4
Winner USC Upstate UPST 12-7, 1-0 BSC
Gardner-Webb GWUBASE
6-11, 0-1 BSC
0
Final
4
USC Upstate UPST
12-7, 1-0 BSC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Gardner-Webb GWUBASE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
USC Upstate UPST 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 X 4 11 0

W: Sullivan, Noah (4-1) L: Blake Brogdon (1-2) S: Cubbler, Jake (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Continues Streak of Victories in Big South Openers, Blanking Gardner-Webb Friday in 4-0 Win

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Beginning a new portion of the season as the schedule swings towards the conference slate, USC Upstate baseball pushed its winning streak to six games as it opened Big South play with a victory for the fifth time—doing so in each season since joining the league ahead of the 2019 season—as the Spartans backed a stellar pitching effort to blank Gardner-Webb in a 4-0 series-opening victory Friday at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
 
Taking the ball for the Spartans, redshirt sophomore right-hander Noah Sullivan turned in a career-best outing as he tossed a career-long-tying 7.0 innings and struck out a career-high-tying eight batters while stranding eight baserunners, fronting the team's second shutout of the season. In relief, redshirt junior righty Jake Cubbler picked up his first save of the season, closing the shutout by retiring all six batters he faced, including three strikeouts.
 
Though the Runnin' Bulldogs kept them off the board through the first five innings, the Upstate offense provided the backing to the Spartans' stellar pitching with a three-spot in the sixth, doubling its hit total from the previous five innings, using four hits in the frame to plate its three runs. Upstate added an insurance run in the eighth, taking advantage of a wild pitch.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 4; Gardner-Webb 0
Records: USC Upstate (12-7; 1-0 Big South); Gardner-Webb (6-11; 0-1 Big South)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
  • B6: Getting the inning's first hit, Troy Hamilton ripped a one-out double inside the third base bag as Upstate put a runner in scoring position for the third time in the game. The Spartans plated the game's first run as Grant Sherrod followed Hamilton's double with a single into left-center. After advancing into scoring position following a wild pitch, Sherrod came home to score as Koby Kropf doubled into the leftfielder corner, plating the Spartans' first two-out run. Kropf later crossed the plate later in the inning, chased home by an RBI single from David Pereira.
  • B8: Following a pair of hits to open up the inning, Upstate added an insurance run as Gardner-Webb's third wild pitch of the night allowed pinch-runner Cooper Zohner to score.
 
Notable
  • For the second time during the 2024 season, Noah Sullivan led the Spartan pitching staff to a shutout victory, earning the Spartans' first shutout since blanking Quinnipiac on Feb. 23, another game started by Sullivan and featuring two Upstate pitchers. The shutout marks the fourth of Sullivan's career while Jake Cubbler pitched in his third career shutout.
  • With the Spartans' shutout of Gardner-Webb Friday, the shutout stands as Upstate's first shutout during Big South Conference play since earning a 4-0 shutout victory over the Runnin' Bulldogs on May 6, 2023.
  • Behind a pair of hits Friday, Koby Kropf pushed his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest hitting streak by a Spartan this season. He also leads the Spartans with a 15-game reached base streak while three others, Sullivan (12), Grant Sherrod (11), and Troy Hamilton (10) hold double-figure reached base streaks.
 
Connect with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
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