Preston Lucas Third AB vs. Charlotte 2025
Emma Hudson
8
Upstate Spartans UPST 16-16, 5-4 BigSouth
9
Winner High Point HPU 21-11, 7-2 BigSouth
Upstate Spartans UPST
16-16, 5-4 BigSouth
8
Final
9
High Point HPU
21-11, 7-2 BigSouth
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Upstate Spartans UPST 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 0 2 8 11 2
High Point HPU 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 4 1 9 10 1

W: GRINTZ, Adam (4-0) L: Mackey, Cayden (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Battles High Point in Back-and-Forth Series Finale Sunday Afternoon

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Closing out a three-game set played between the teams picked atop the Big South Conference preseason poll, Sunday afternoon's game proved a back-and-forth affair as USC Upstate baseball fell to High Point via walk-off in the series finale at Williard Stadium.
 
Facing a pair of multi-run deficits throughout the afternoon, Upstate responded rapidly to both instances, fighting back to tie the game each time in the subsequent half-inning. In total, the game featured three ties and two lead changes, a game befitting the two programs that competed for a conference championship a season ago.
 
Going 3-for-4, senior designated hitter Johnny Sweeney collected a team-high three RBI Sunday, upping his total in the series to nine. His first two came behind his third home run of the weekend—his 12th of the season—giving Upstate the lead in the fifth. He'd later add an RBI in the ninth, pulling Upstate within one with a single into right.
 
Redshirt junior rightfielder Scott Campbell, junior third baseman Gage Griggs, and junior catcher Preston Lucas joined Sweeney with a multi-hit afternoon, collecting two hits apiece. Lucas notched a multi-RBI game to complement his multi-hit effort, driving home a pair.
 
Game Information
Score: High Point 9; USC Upstate 8
Records: USC Upstate (16-16; 5-4 Big South); High Point (21-11; 7-2 Big South)
Location: Hilliard Stadium | High Point, N.C.
 
How It Happened
  • B1: Following an Upstate error to put a pair of runners in scoring position, High Point utilized a pair of productive outs, a groundout and a sacrifice fly, to scratch a pair.
  • T2: Fighting back and applying pressure on the Panthers, Upstate tallied two runs of its own in the second. Gage Griggs drove home the first by dropping a single inside the leftfield line and out of the reach of the third baseman before Henry Zenor executed a squeeze bunt to tie the game.
  • T3: Taking advantage of the infield playing back, Preston Lucas executed a textbook drag bunt, hugging the third base line and allowing Johnny Sweeney to race down the line and score.
  • B4: Using successive sacrifice bunts, High Point manufactured the tying run on Miggy Echazaretta's squeeze bunt.
  • T5: Breaking another tie with a long ball, Sweeney deposited an 0-1 pitch into the party deck in right-center, his 12th of the year a two-run shot. Lucas added another tally in the frame, driving home Scott Campbell from first with a double into the rightfield corner.
  • B6: Getting a run back, High Point hung a run on the board behind a Brayden Simpson solo homer to left.
  • B8: Seeing the first six batters of the inning reach base, the Panthers retook the lead with four runs in the inning. A bases-loaded walk drawn by Jace Kohler delivered the lead.
  • T9: Battling back to tie the game, Sweeney and Campbell drove home another run apiece, giving Upstate two in the inning. Ripping a ball through the right side, Sweeney knocked in his third of the day before a well-executed bunt from Campbell scored Scott Newman.
  • B9: Jackson Melton walked off the Spartans in the ninth with a solo shot to leftfield.
 
Notable
  • Homering in the fifth inning, Johnny Sweeney hit his team-leading 12th home run of the season. His 12 long balls stand as the seventh-most in a single season in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.).
 
Up Next for the Spartans
Returning to the Palmetto State, Upstate hits the road for the state capital Tuesday, heading to Columbia for a meeting with South Carolina. First pitch between the Spartans and Gamecocks is set for 6:30 p.m. ET.
 
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INVEST IN CHAMPIONS - Join the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF) and enjoy enhanced benefits for your support of all USC Upstate programs! Make your gift today, click here!
 
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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