SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Following a solid pitching performance in the Spartans' OneSpartanburg, Inc. Baseball Classic opener Friday afternoon, USC Upstate baseball received a continuation of its strong pitching in the event as freshman left-handed pitcher Max Kaplan delivered a complete game in his first collegiate start, stifling the Le Moyne offense in a 6-1 victory Saturday at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
 
Over his 9.0 innings of work, Kaplan tied the single-game program record for strikeouts, punching out 13 Dolphins on the day. He struck out multiple batters across four different innings, including a pair of strikeouts in the ninth to finish his complete game. On the day, he scattered five baserunners, settling in after allowing four to reach in the first by allowing just one baserunner and no hits over his final eight frames of work.
 
The Spartans' offense backed Kaplan in a big way Saturday, slugging a pair of opportune homers. Redshirt junior third baseman Jake Armsey helped Kaplan settle in during the home half of the first, hitting a three-run blast to left-center, getting Upstate its run back and then some. Adding a bit of insurance in the bottom of the eighth, redshirt sophomore centerfielder Scott Newman launched a two-run shot to center, his team-leading third long ball of the young campaign.
 
Armsey added a double to his multi-hit day, the lone Spartan with two extra-base hits on the afternoon. Redshirt junior second baseman Alex Ritzer and junior leftfielder Cayden Wotipka joined Armsey with multi-hit efforts, Ritzer's second and Wotipka's first of the season.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 6; Le Moyne 1
Records: USC Upstate (2-3; 0-0 Big South); Le Moyne (0-6; 0-0 NEC)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened

• T1: Taking advantage of an Upstate error with two outs, Le Moyne struck first as Dominic Russ raced home on a dropped fly ball in shallow leftfield.
• B1: Benefitting from a pair of free bases—two of three for the Spartans in the inning—Jake Armsey slammed a three-run homer to left-center, delivering Upstate a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
• B5: After Armsey put two runners in scoring position with a double down the leftfield line, Cayden Wotipka tacked on a run of insurance with a sac fly to center.
• B8: Coming behind another free base issued to the Spartans, Scott Newman launched a two-run homer to center, tallying two more insurance runs.

 
Notable

• Striking out 13 hitters, Max Kaplan tied the program's single-game record for strikeouts, the first to hit the tally since the 2020 season. He joins Tyler Jackson (March 8, 2016, vs. The Citadel) and Ben Ferrer (Feb. 15, 2020, vs. Long Island) with the single-game record.
• Adding a pickoff to his strikeout total, Kaplan collected the Spartans' fifth pickoff of the season. All five of Upstate's pickoffs have come during home games, picking off at least one runner in four straight games played at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
• Notching a complete game, Kaplan becomes the first Spartan since Henry Proger on March 3, 2024, versus Penn to toss a complete game.

 
Up Next for the Spartans
Closing out the 2025 iteration of the OneSpartanburg, Inc. Baseball Classic, Upstate returns to the diamond Sunday afternoon. The Spartans host Bowling Green with first pitch set for 1 p.m. ET.
 
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