CHAMPIONS! Baseball Earns Program's First Big South Regular Season Crown Behind 14-9 Win and Ingles I-26 Rivalry Sweep of UNC Asheville

Saturday, May 17

Marion, N.C.

4:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

33-23, 0

UNC Asheville

15-35, 0

USC Upstate

UNC Asheville

Photo by: Emma Hudson

5/17/2025 8:07:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MARION, N.C. – Anything good does not come without adversity. No music. No PA announcer. No pitch clock. No problem for the USC Upstate baseball Spartans.

Seeing its regular season finale moved to Marion, N.C. from Asheville, N.C. due to an unexpected overnight storm, Upstate didn't let the change deter it from its ultimate goal, a regular season Big South Conference championship. Behind a grit-it-out 14-9 victory over UNC Asheville Saturday afternoon, the Spartans are Big South Champs for the first time, completing the sweep.

Setting the tone in the first inning, sophomore shortstop made the Bulldogs pay for a leadoff walk, launching the first pitch he saw to deep left. He homered in three of his first four plate appearances, collecting a career-high seven RBI as he finished a three-run blast shy of the home run cycle in the program's first three-homer game. His biggest homer of the afternoon came in the sixth as he punished UNC Asheville for three consecutive walks as his grand slam delivered Upstate a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

The Spartans slugged five total long balls on the afternoon with junior second baseman Gage Griggs and junior designated hitter Wylie Waters joining Sheahan with homers, both hitting two-run shots.

Taking over on the bump in the fifth, senior right-handed pitcher Kyle Beaty limited UNC Asheville to two runs (one earned) over a career-long 3.1 innings, earning his fifth win of the season. He wiped away multiple Bulldog baserunners as he induced a pair of crucial double plays, giving him a team-high-tying six on the campaign. Junior righty Braden Consaul fired the final frame for the Spartans, locking down the conference championship.

Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 14; UNC Asheville 9
Records: USC Upstate (33-23; 19-5 Big South); UNC Asheville (15-35; 8-16 Big South)
Location: Big League Camp | Marion, N.C.

How It Happened

T1: Following a leadoff walk to Henry Zenor, Vance Sheahan unloaded on the first pitch he saw, depositing it over the fence in left-center to build an early Upstate advantage.
B1: Getting a run back, UNC Asheville brought one in as Logan Lowe kept chugging as Upstate attempted a double play turn on a ball in the middle of the field.
T3: Punching one just inside the rightfield foul pole, Sheahan exited the yard again as his solo homer secured his first career multi-homer game and expanded the Spartans' advantage.
B3: Pulling the Bulldogs ahead for the first time on the afternoon, Rylen Stocken slammed a three-run homer to left-center.
T4: Providing an immediate answer, Gage Griggs crushed a ball over the wall in left as his two-run blast delivered the advantage back to Upstate. Adding a run of insurance, Zenor ripped one through the right side to score Armsey from second.
B4: Erasing the Spartans' insurance run, UNC Asheville's Jake Pereira picked up an RBI as he tripled off the fence in dead center.
B5: Swinging the lead back in favor of the Bulldogs, Patrick Gillen hit a two-run home run to rightfield, putting UNC Asheville up 7-6.
T6: Providing Upstate's answer, Sheahan's biggest hit of the day came in the form of a demolished 0-1 pitch to left-center. His grand slam pushed the Spartans back in front and secured the first three-homer game in program history.
B6: Pulling the Bulldogs within one, Corbin Lanowitz launched a two-run homer to left.
T8: Chasing a leadoff double from Scott Campbell, Wylie Waters lifted an opposite-field, two-run homer, exiting the yard to right to extend the Spartan lead.
T9: Behind two wild pitches with the bases loaded, the Spartans pushed across their final two tallies of the afternoon as Zenor and Sheahan crossed home plate.

Notable

Earning the 14-9 win Saturday afternoon, Upstate secured the program's first-ever Big South Conference regular season championship. The championship marks the program's third regular season title, joining the NAIA District Six championships in 1987 and 1988.
Behind his first-inning homer, Vance Shahean improved his reached base streak to 43 games, the longest-known reached base streak in the program's Division I era (2007-pres.).
Adding a solo shot in the third inning, Sheahan became the fifth Spartan this season to record a multi-homer game, joining Scott Newman (twice), Johnny Sweeney (thrice), Wylie Waters, and Preston Lucas, for the eighth such game this season.
Slugging a grand slam in the sixth inning, Sheahan became the first Spartan in program history to record a three-homer game. The grand slam marks the sixth grand slam of the year for Upstate, a D1 era record.

Up Next for the Spartans
With the regular season concluded, USC Upstate turns its attention to the Big South Baseball Championship. The event takes place from May 21-24 from Truist Point in High Point, N.C. Upstate begins the tournament next Thursday at 11 a.m. ET as the event's No. 1 seed with its opponent to be announced Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

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