HIGH POINT, N.C. – Competing under the bright lights of national television for the third straight season, USC Upstate baseball secured a series victory as it set the tone early and carried its momentum throughout the night in a 7-2 wire-to-wire victory over High Point on ESPNU Saturday night.
Taking the ball with a 4-0 lead in the home half of the first, redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher
Amp Phillips fed off his team's offense, establishing his presence with a pair of strikeouts in the first frame. He turned the momentum into a career-long 7.0 innings of work, striking out a career-best 11 hitters—the second-most strikeouts by an Upstate pitcher in a single game this season. He punched out a batter in each of his seven innings tossed, striking out multiple hitters in the first three stanzas and his final frame.
Shutting the door over the final two innings, sophomore righty
Cooper Ellingworth struck out four over 2.0 scoreless innings, pushing Upstate's total to 15 on the game. He closed the game by striking out the side in the ninth.
Backing the strong efforts from Phillips and Ellingworth, three Spartans collected multi-hit efforts as redshirt junior rightfielder
Scott Campbell, junior catcher
Preston Lucas, and redshirt freshman leftfielder
Henry Zenor each recorded two hits with both of Zenor's hits going for extra bases, two of the Spartans' five doubles. Lucas and junior first baseman
Wylie Waters drove home a pair of runs, the team's two multi-RBI games.
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 7; High Point 2
Records: USC Upstate (16-15; 5-3 Big South); High Point (20-11; 6-2 Big South)
Location: Williard Stadium | High Point, N.C.
How It Happened
- T1: Striking early, Upstate did its damage with three consecutive two-out run-producing hits, leading to four runs. Scott Campbell plated the first with a single back through the middle before a double to left from Wylie Waters knocked in the next two. Following Campbell's lead, Lucas shot a single over the second base bag, leading to the fourth run of the frame.
- T3: Driving home another tally, Lucas again used the middle of the field, scoring Campbell with a single back through the box.
- T5: Tacking another run on to its advantage, Scott Newman came home to score from third as High Point turned a double play.
- T6: Greeting a new Panther arm, Henry Zenor ripped a double down the rightfield line, allowing Alex Ritzer to score.
- B7: High Point posted its runs behind a two-run homer from Christian Smith.
Notable
- Capturing a 7-2 victory Saturday evening, Upstate improved to 2-0 in regular season games played on ESPNU after winning 13-10 on April 6, 2024, at Winthrop.
- Striking out 11 hitters, Amp Phillips secured the program's 25th double-digit strikeout game by a starting pitcher in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.). Saturday's outing by Phillips marks the third double-digit strikeout game by a Spartan pitcher in 2025, joining Max Kaplan (13 vs. Le Moyne on Feb. 22) and Chris Torres (10 vs. Charleston Southern on March. 23).
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