Tyler Lang Grand Slam Celebration vs. Gardner-Webb Gm 3 2024
Emily Rangel
2
Gardner-Webb GWUBASE 6-13, 0-3 BSC
20
Winner USC Upstate UPST 14-7, 3-0 BSC
Gardner-Webb GWUBASE
6-13, 0-3 BSC
2
Final
20
USC Upstate UPST
14-7, 3-0 BSC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Gardner-Webb GWUBASE 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 7 1
USC Upstate UPST 3 0 2 6 9 0 0 20 17 0

W: Proger, Henry (3-1) L: Michael Ciminiello (0-2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Earns Conference-Opening Sweep for Fourth Straight Season, Downing Gardner-Webb 20-2 in Sunday Run-Rule Victory

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After capturing a series victory Saturday afternoon, USC Upstate baseball completed the sweep in the team's opening Big South series as 11 Spartans, including eight of nine starters, recorded a hit as the Upstate bats came alive to the tune of 17 hits and 20 runs in a 20-2 run-rule victory over Gardner-Webb Sunday at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
 
Leading to its 20 runs, Upstate tallied multiple runs in four of the seven innings Sunday, setting the tone with three runs in the first. While not scoring in the second, the Spartans tacked on two in the third before a pair of five-plus run innings—six in the fourth and nine in the fifth—completed the scoring.
 
Four Spartans finished the afternoon with both a multi-hit and multi-RBI game as redshirt senior centerfielder Daniel Gernon, redshirt senior shortstop Troy Hamilton, redshirt junior rightfielder Koby Kropf, and redshirt senior catcher David Pereira accomplished the feat. Pereira (solo shot) and freshman catcher Tyler Lang (grand slam) each homered for Upstate with Lang's grand slam marking his first career home run.
 
Complementing the offense, senior left-hander Henry Proger, junior right-hander Trent Hodgdon, and sophomore righty Braden Consaul combined to allow two runs and seven hits to the Runnin' Bulldogs. Proger earned his second quality start of the year, allowing two runs over 6.0 innings of work while striking out three. Hodgdon and Consaul combined for a scoreless inning each with Hodgdon striking out three and Consaul one.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 20; Gardner-Webb 2 (7 inn.)
Records: USC Upstate (14-7; 3-0 Big South); Gardner-Webb (6-13; 0-3 Big South)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
  • B1: Employing a double steal as the first two hitters to the plate for the Spartans reached, Upstate scored the game's first run as Daniel Gernon raced home to score as the throw to nab him at third sailed into leftfield. Another pair of tallies hit the board later in the inning as consecutive RBI singles from Noah Sullivan and Koby Kropf drove home runs.
  • B3: After loading the bases following a trio of walks, the Spartans used another pair of RBI singles to add two more to the scoreboard. Gernon and Troy Hamilton notched the consecutive singles in the inning, leading to the run.
  • B4: Opening a six-run frame, David Pereira drove in the inning's first run with an RBI single of his own before a wild pitch with the bases loaded allowed in another. With the bases remaining loaded, Upstate used a single from Hamilton, a walk from Sherrod, and a two-run single from Kropf to hang four more runs on the board.
  • T5: Getting a pair of runs back, Gardner-Webb saw Alec Burns and Peter Capobianco go back-to-back with solo home runs.
  • B5: Fashioning the day's highest-scoring inning, the Spartans plated nine in the frame to wrap up the game's scoring. Leading off the inning, Pereira launched a solo home run as Upstate batted around, adding four more tallies before the seven-spot came back to the plate. Pinch-hitting for Pereira, Tyler Lang hit the second homer out of the seven-hole in the inning as he slugged a grand slam.
 
Notable
  • Completing the series sweep Sunday, Upstate's sweep of Gardner-Webb gives the Spartans a series sweep to open Big South play for the fourth consecutive season.
  • The victory also caps a sweep of the team's eight-game homestand, the first time Upstate has swept a homestand greater than five games since April 23-May 1, 2021 (six games).
  • Upstate's 20 runs in the team's series finale versus the Runnin' Bulldogs stand as the most runs scored by the Spartans in a Big South Conference game since joining the league ahead of the 2019 season. The previous high was 19 runs scored versus Winthrop on May 16, 2019.
  • Launching his first career homer Sunday, Tyler Lang collected the Spartans' first grand slam of the 2024 season and the first since Cole Caruso hit one on May 18, 2023, against Campbell.
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Coming off a season-long eight-game homestand at Cleveland S. Harley Park, Upstate heads to Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. to host No. 20 South Carolina next Tuesday. The game marks the second straight season the Spartans have hosted the Gamecocks at the home of the Greenville Drive with the midweek first pitch slated for 6 p.m. ET.
 
Connect with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics 
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartans 
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
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