Max Kaplan Celebration vs. Troy Gm 2 2025
Natalia Moll
4
Troy TROY 12-3
5
Winner USC Upstate UPST 7-6
Troy TROY
12-3
4
Final
5
USC Upstate UPST
7-6
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Troy TROY 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 4 12 0
USC Upstate UPST 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 X 5 8 0

W: Kaplan, Max (2-0) L: Stewart, Grayson (1-1) S: Phillips, Amp (1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Strong Efforts on the Mound from Max Kaplan and Amp Phillips Leads Baseball to Series-Evening Victory Over No. 19 Troy

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After attempting a late-inning comeback Friday afternoon in its series opener with No. 19 Troy, USC Upstate baseball completed its comeback Saturday, using a pair of seventh-inning runs to even the series and capture the team's first victory over a ranked opponent during the 2025 season. The win gives Upstate a win over a ranked foe for the third straight season with three of the four ranked wins in said three seasons coming at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
 
Setting the tone, freshman left-handed pitcher Max Kaplan fashioned his second career outing of 7.0 innings or greater, turning in 7.0 innings Saturday against Troy. Just missing out on a quality start, he surrendered 10 hits and four earned runs but kept the Trojans in check as he induced a pair of double plays while picking off a baserunner. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Amp Phillips relieved Kaplan, entering the game to protect a one-run lead in the eighth, notching a pair of scoreless frames to register his first save of the season.
 
Remaining resilient, Upstate's offense backed its pitching, answering Troy's scoring throughout the day by scoring at least a run in each subsequent half-inning. Exiting the stretch trailing 4-3, Upstate scratched a pair of runs in the inning to retake the lead it last held in the fourth inning, scoring twice without the benefit of a hit.
 
Redshirt junior second baseman Alex Ritzer, recording the second of his two RBI, produced the seventh inning's first tally as junior pinch runner Gage Griggs crossed the plate ahead of a throw from the Trojans' pitcher. Giving Upstate the lead, junior leftfielder Cayden Wotipka scored on a wild pitch.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 5; No. 19 Troy 4
Records: USC Upstate (7-6; 0-0 Big South); Troy (12-3; 0-0 Sun Belt)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
  • T2: Taking advantage of a leadoff walk, Troy plated the day's first run as Shane Lewis dropped an RBI single into leftfield.
  • B2: Tying the game, Upstate scored the first of its two runs in the frame behind an RBI single from Henry Zenor, sending Jake Armsey across the plate. Employing a steal-and-stop with runners on the corners, Zenor did his job, getting caught in a rundown while allowing Cayden Wotipka to race home.
  • T5: Regaining the lead, the Trojans plated a pair behind their first extra-base knock of the day, a two-run double to the right-center gap from Sean Darnell. Troy added an insurance tally off an RBI single from Brooks Bryan.
  • B5: Getting a run back, Alex Ritzer drove in Zenor from third with an RBI groundout up the middle following a wild pitch to put Zenor 90 feet closer to scoring.
  • B7: Scoring without a hit, Upstate scratched the tying and go-ahead run via a fielder's choice and a wild pitch. Ritzer tied the game as his chopper to the mound resulted in a late throw from the pitcher trying to nab Gage Griggs at the plate. Wotipka scored the go-ahead run, coming across on a wild pitch.
 
Notable
  • Saturday's victory marked the Spartans' first win of the 2025 season over a ranked opponent, the first ranked win for head coach Kane Sweeney. The win gives Upstate at least one ranked win in each of the last three seasons while marking the 13th of Sweeney's career as either a player, assistant coach, or head coach.
  • Scoring the go-ahead run in the seventh inning Saturday, Upstate secured its second come-from-behind victory when scoring in the seventh inning or later. The Spartans' last late-inning comeback win came on opening day against Boston College.
  • Tossing 7.0 innings against Troy, Max Kaplan became the first Spartan pitcher to record multiple starts of 7.0 innings or greater during the 2025 season. He's the first Upstate pitcher to secure the milestone since Henry Proger and Noah Sullivan did so during the 2024 season.
 
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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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