Preston Lucas 1st AB vs. Longwood Gm 2 2025
Emma Hudson
11
Longwood LWU 11-36, 12-5 BSC
22
Winner USC Upstate UPST 25-22, 5-15 BSC
Longwood LWU
11-36, 12-5 BSC
11
Final
22
USC Upstate UPST
25-22, 5-15 BSC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Longwood LWU 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 5 0 11 11 2
USC Upstate UPST 3 4 0 2 4 5 4 0 X 22 16 0

W: Kuskie, Darin (4-1) L: TAKAHASHI-TRADER, K (0-1)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Baseball Evens Series with Longwood, Bashing Six Homers En Route to 22-Run Outburst

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – While Mother Nature appeared to have the upper hand, forcing multiple stoppages throughout the day, she couldn't put a damper on USC Upstate baseball's offense as the Spartans evened their series with Longwood behind a 20-plus-run outburst at Cleveland S. Harley Park Saturday. Upstate's third 20-plus run game of the season led to a 22-11 win over the Lancers.
 
Driving the Spartans' outburst, two left-handed hitters, senior designated hitter Johnny Sweeney and junior catcher Preston Lucas, posted career-high RBI outputs, combining to plate 13 of the team's 22 runs. Sweeney tied his career-high with seven RBI, part of a 3-for-3 day that saw him reach safely in all five plate appearances. Lucas finished the afternoon 3-for-4 with three extra-base hits as he drove in a career-high six RBI.
 
Swatting six home runs Saturday, Upstate tied the program's single-game Division I era (2007-pres.) record for single-game home runs, doing so for the third time in the era and first time since Feb. 25, 2024, versus Saint Joseph's. Sweeney recorded his third career multi-homer game behind a three-run shot and grand slam, giving him a team-high 17 long balls this season. Redshirt junior rightfielder Scott Campbell, junior second baseman Gage Griggs, Lucas, and junior leftfielder Cayden Wotipka each added a single homer apiece.
 
Working 6.0 or more innings for the second time in his career, sophomore right-handed pitcher Darin Kuskie tossed 6.0 innings as he picked up his fourth win of the year. He struck out a career-best eight over his 6.0 innings of work, heading a Spartan pitching staff that combined for 11 strikeouts Saturday.
 
Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 22; Longwood 11
Records: USC Upstate (25-22; 12-5 Big South); Longwood (11-36; 5-15 Big South)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
 
How It Happened
  • B1: Jumping out early, Upstate plated three in the first as Preston Lucas cleared the loaded bases with a gap-splitting double to left-center.
  • B2: Doing themselves one better, the Spartans scored four more runs in the second. Vance Sheahan began the four-spot with his first sac fly of the afternoon before Johnny Sweeney's first home run of the day, a three-run shot to center.
  • T4: Trimming the Spartans' advantage, Longwood used back-to-back homers from Myles Webb and James Nelson to tally three in the inning.
  • B4: Getting a pair of its runs back, Upstate used a sac fly from Gage Griggs and RBI single from Jake Armsey to hang two more on the board.
  • B5: Hitting a pair of home runs in a single inning, the Spartans benefit from a solo blast from Scott Campbell and a three-run homer from Preston Lucas to tally four in the frame.
  • T6: Behind his second homer of the day, Webb's solo shot off the scoreboard added another tally for Longwood.
  • B6: Upstate tacked on five more runs in the sixth, the biggest hit of the inning coming off the bat of Sweeney. He recorded four more RBI with a grand slam to right, his second homer of the day.
  • T7: Longwood added a pair of runs in the seventh, the first coming home as Upstate turned a double play before Jae'dan Carter added an RBI single.
  • B7: Crafting another four-spot, the Spartans used home runs from Gage Griggs and Cayden Wotipka to spur the inning. Owen Ross also picked up an RBI in the frame.
  • T8: Using a grand slam from Matt Stevenson and a sac fly from Webb, the Lancers capped the day's scoring with five runs in the eighth inning.
 
Notable
  • Hitting six home runs, Upstate tied its Division I era (2007-pres.) single-game record for home runs. Saturday's total tied the six long balls hit on both April 20, 2022, at Gardner-Webb and Feb. 25, 2024, versus Saint Joseph's for the record.
  • Totaling a career-high-tying seven RBI against the Lancers, Johnny Sweeney ran his season RBI total to 73, becoming the third player in program history to surpass 70 RBI in a campaign. His total ranks as the second-most in a single season by a Spartan, trailing the 78 RBI from Grant Sherrod during the 2024 season.
  • Slugging his 16th and 17th home runs of the season Saturday, Sweeney's season total ties for the fourth-highest single-season total in program history. He becomes the sixth different Spartan to hit 17 or more long balls in a season.
  • Reaching with a first-inning single, Vance Sheahan pushed his career-long and team-leading reached base streak to 34 games, tying for the longest known streak in the team's Division I era (2007-pres.). His streak equals the 34-game streak fashioned by Noah Sullivan during the 2022 season.
 
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