Darin Kuskie Pitching vs. Troy Gm1 2025
Natalia Moll
11
Winner Troy TROY 12-2
9
USC Upstate UPST 6-6
Winner
Troy TROY
12-2
11
Final
9
USC Upstate UPST
6-6
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Troy TROY 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 2 2 11 11 0
USC Upstate UPST 0 1 0 2 3 0 0 3 0 9 9 1

W: Gorgen, Grady (2-0) L: Bianchini, Max (2-3) S: Lyon, Luke (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Darin Kuskie Strikes Out Six in Relief, Sets Up Baseball For Late-Inning Comeback Attempt Versus No. 19 Troy Fuelled by Season-High Five Homers

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Back inside Cleveland S. Harley Park following a midweek detour, USC Upstate baseball sought another late-inning comeback, tying the game with a three-spot in the eighth inning before falling 11-9 in the ninth to No. 19 Troy in Friday evening's series opener. The game saw each side slug five home runs with 12 of the game's 20 combined runs coming via the long ball.
 
Setting up the offense to take the mantle in the late innings, sophomore right-handed pitcher Darin Kuskie tossed 3.0 innings of one-hit, one-run—an unearned run—baseball, striking out a season-best six strikeouts. His six punchouts—four of which caught Trojan hitters looking—are Kuskie's most in a relief outing in his career, standing as his second-most in a contest behind his career-high eight versus Tennessee Tech on March 12, 2024.
 
Fighting back from a 7-3 deficit entering the home half of the fifth, Upstate began its comeback bid with three runs in the frame, pulling within a run. Redshirt sophomore centerfielder Scott Newman and sophomore shortstop Vance Sheahan slammed back-to-back homers, the Spartans' third and fourth of the game following solo shots from redshirt junior third baseman Jake Armsey and senior first baseman Johnny Sweeney in the second and fourth innings, respectively.
 
Tying the game at nine in the eighth, Upstate scratched three runs behind a pair of clutch extra-base hits. Following a leadoff HBP, redshirt junior rightfielder Scott Campbell launched his first career homer, a two-run opposite-field shot. Stepping to the plate with two outs, sophomore pinch hitter Kai Tullos doubled down the rightfield line, sending redshirt freshman leftfielder Henry Zenor racing home from first.
 
Game Information
Score: No. 19 Troy 11; USC Upstate 9
Records: USC Upstate (6-6; 0-0 Big South); Troy (12-2; 0-0 Sun Belt)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
  • T1: Getting on the board early, Troy slugged back-to-back two-out solo homers as Blake Cavill and Brooks Bryan left the yard.
  • B2: Getting a run back, Jake Armsey launched a solo homer to left-center, cutting the Trojan lead in half.
  • T3: Seeing the same two Trojans produce runs for Troy in the third, Cavill knocked in a pair with a single through the right side before Bryan drove in a third run on a groundout to short.
  • B4: Answering Troy in the fourth frame, Johnny Sweeney hit the Spartans' second homer of the day, escaping the ballpark to left-center. Following up Sweeney's homer with a triple, Armsey raced home on a wild pitch.
  • T5: Responding to Upstate's two-spot in the prior half inning, Troy opened the next frame with a solo homer from Cavill, his second of the day. A Spartan throwing error added another for the Trojans later in the frame.
  • B5: Scoring a pair of its own in the fifth, Upstate saw back-to-back homers from Scott Newman (two-run) and Vance Sheahan (solo).
  • T8: Ripping a two-run single into leftfield with the bases loaded, Steven Meier added a bit of insurance for the Trojans in the eighth.
  • B8: Battling back to tie the contest, the Spartans scored three in the home half of the inning. Scott Campbell began the scoring with a two-run homer before a double from Kai Tullos knotted the game, scoring Henry Zenor.
  • T9: Closing the game's scoring in the same way they opened it, Troy slugged a pair of two-out solo homers as Mike Bello and Shane Lewis left the yard.
 
Notable
  • Upstate's five home runs Friday versus Troy mark the team's highest-single game total of the 2025 season. The five long balls are the most since hitting five versus High Point on May 3, 2024. The total also ties for the second-most homers in a single game in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.).
 
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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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