Team Celebration Postgame vs. ETSU Gm 1 2025
Natalia Moll
14
East Tennessee State ETSU 19-6
19
Winner USC Upstate UPST 14-11
East Tennessee State ETSU
19-6
14
Final
19
USC Upstate UPST
14-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
East Tennessee State ETSU 3 0 0 1 9 0 0 1 0 14 14 2
USC Upstate UPST 10 1 0 5 3 0 0 0 X 19 15 4

W: Reyes, Juan (1-0) L: Carter Fink (4-1) S: Ellingworth, Cooper (2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Pushes Winning Streak to Six, Capturing Series-Opening Victory in Slugfest Against ETSU

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Back inside the friendly confines of Cleveland S. Harley Park after fashioning a five-win stretch away from its home ballpark, USC Upstate baseball pushed its winning streak to six Friday evening, coming away with a 19-14 win over East Tennessee State in game one of the three-game non-conference series. In the win, the Spartans scored 15-plus runs for the fifth time this season through 25 games, equaling the number of games scoring 15 or more runs from last season over 60 games.
 
Continuing his blistering stretch at the plate, senior designated hitter Johnny Sweeney added two more extra-base hits—another double and home run—and four additional RBI to his totals. Over his past six games, he's 17-of-21 at the plate, accruing four doubles, five homers, 21 RBI, and 10 runs scored. Junior catcher Preston Lucas joined Sweeney with a four-RBI night as Lucas ripped a pair of doubles, part of a career-high three-hit and a career-high four-RBI night.
 
Four other Spartans concluded the night with a multi-hit and/or a multi-RBI effort with sophomore shortstop Vance Shehan picking up three hits and RBI, his biggest hit a three-run no-doubt home run. Junior third baseman Gage Griggs and redshirt freshman leftfielder Henry Zenor notched multi-RBI nights with two apiece with redshirt junior rightfielder Scott Campbell and Griggs picking up two hits each.
 
After striking out the side to finish Tuesday's win at NC State, junior right-handed pitcher Juan Reyes came back Friday and earned his first win of the year, tossing 3.1 innings of one-run baseball for the Spartans whilst striking out four. Tossing the final 4.2 innings of the evening, sophomore righty Cooper Ellingworth struck out four en route to his second save of 2025.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 19; ETSU 14
Records: USC Upstate (14-11; 3-3 Big South); ETSU (19-6; 2-1 SoCon)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
  • T1: Taking advantage of two Upstate errors and a passed ball, ETSU jumped out to an early lead, plating three in the opening half-inning of the game.
  • B1: Posting its highest-scoring inning of the season—and highest-scoring inning since March 10, 2024—Upstate wrangled the lead away from the Buccaneers in the subsequent half-inning. The first eight Spartans to step to the plate all reached before the first out, a sac fly to produce a run, as Upstate sent 13 to the plate, scoring 10. The big hits in the frame came via a three-run double from Johnny Sweeney, a two-run single from Preston Lucas, and a three-run homer from Vance Sheahan.
  • B2: Behind another productive out, the Spartans tacked another on the scoreboard as Lucas lifted a sac fly to left.
  • T4: Getting a run back, ETSU's Blake Jacklin slugged a solo homer to center.
  • B4: Answering the Buccaneers, Upstate hung five more tallies on the board in the fourth as the Spartans batted around again. Sweeney began the inning with an opposite-field jack before RBI singles from Jake Armsey and Gage Griggs, along with a wild pitch and sac fly from Scott Newman finished the scoring.
  • T5: Using its highest-scoring output of the evening, ETSU scored nine in the fifth behind the strength of five long balls in the inning.
  • B5: Responding to the Buccaneers, Upstate scratched three in the home half with Lucas providing the first tally with a double off the wall in right. Henry Zenor followed with a two-run single nestled inside the leftfield line.
  • T8: ETSU added the final run to the board via solo home run from Jamie Palmese.
 
Notable
  • Scoring 19 times Friday evening, Upstate notched its fifth game scoring 15 or more runs during the 2025 season, doing so through 25 games. For comparison, the Spartans scored 15-plus runs on five occasions a season, be it across 60 games.
  • Upstate's 10-run first inning marked the team's highest-scoring inning of the 2025 season, besting the nine-run third inning put up last Friday at Charleston Southern. The 10 runs in the inning are the most by the Spartans in a single frame since scoring 13 in the fifth inning versus Rider on March 10, 2024.
 
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SAVE THE DATE FOR SPARTY'S BALL – MAY 17th – Support USC Upstate Athletics at Sparty's Ball, the largest fundraising event of the year for the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF), to be held Saturday, May 17, 2025 at the Milliken Club at Fifth Third Park. For tickets, sponsorship and auction information, click here!
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