ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Beginning its final series of the regular season as it looks to solidify its seeding for the impending Big South Conference Championship, USC Upstate baseball locked up a first-round bye and a top-two seed behind a 16-0 run-rule victory in seven innings over UNC Asheville Thursday evening at Greenwood Baseball Field.
 
Not to be overshadowed by an offense that pounded out 21 hits and scored 16 runs, the pitching duo of redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Amp Phillips and junior righty Braden Consaul combined to limit the Bulldogs to two hits in the shutout victory. Phillips faced the minimum through five, striking out five en route to his sixth victory of the year. Consaul tossed a pair of scoreless innings for the Spartans, lowering his ERA to 3.58.
 
Nine Spartans finished the night with at least one hit as 13 players reached base for Upstate in the victory. Headlining the offense, redshirt junior first baseman Jake Armsey recorded career-high-tying totals with three hits and three RBI on the night. Sophomore shortstop Vance Sheahan joined Armsey with three hits and three RBI while redshirt junior Scott Campbell also registered five RBI for Upstate.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 16; UNC Asheville 0 (7 inn.)
Records: USC Upstate (31-23; 17-5 Big South); UNC Asheville (15-33; 8-14 Big South)
Location: Greenwood Baseball Field | Asheville, N.C.
 
How It Happened

• T2: Splitting the right-center gap with Upstate's second two-bagger of the evening, Jake Armsey plated a pair, driving home Johnny Sweeney and Preston Lucas to deliver an early lead.
• T3: Leading off the third, Henry Zenor hammered a pitch to center, exiting the yard for his fifth long ball of the year. Using another pair of extra-base hits, both doubles, Upstate added another run on an RBI double from Scott Campbell.
• T4: Building their lead, the Spartans added five tallies to the scoreboard in the fourth. Armsey recorded his third RBI of the day in the inning with Vance Sheahan, Campbell, and Scott Newman recording RBI in the frame.
• T5: Taking one for the team, Campbell notched his third RBI of the day—all in consecutive innings—as his HBP with the bases loaded pushed across the 10^th Upstate run of the evening.
• T6: Using a pair of singles through the left side, Upstate added a combined three runs off the bat of Gage Griggs and Sheahan. A Bulldog error brought home another in a four-run sixth for the Spartans.
• T7: Getting back-to-back RBI singles from pinch hitters as Devlin Smalanskas and Wylie Waters drove in runs.

 
Notable

• Leading off the ballgame, Henry Zenor recorded his team-leading 20^th double of the season. He becomes the seventh Spartan to record 20 or more doubles in a season, tying for third most in a single season in program history.
• Drawing an HBP in the fifth inning, Scott Campbell drew his 22^nd HBP of the season, tying Devin Buckner (2022) for the program's single-season record in the category.

 
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