Clayton Campidilli Homers For Second Straight Game as Baseball Drops Midweek Action Against No. 9 Georgia

Wednesday, February 18

Athens, Ga.

3:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

2-3

Georgia

3-1

USC Upstate

Georgia

Photo by: Emma Hudson

2/18/2026 7:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. – Facing a ranked foe and Power-Four opponent for the first time in 2026, USC Upstate baseball jumped out to an early advantage on No. 9 Georgia before battling back as it sought a comeback attempt Wednesday evening in a 12-6 setback at Foley Field.

For the second straight night, junior first baseman Clayton Campidilli homered for the Spartans, a three-run homer in the fourth, pulling Upstate within a run. He finished the evening with his second consecutive multi-hit outing, one of three Spartans with a multi-hit game.

Senior catcher Preston Lucas joined Campidilli with a multi-hit and multi-RBI game, collecting a pair of hits and a pair of RBI, driving home two with a double in the eighth inning. Rounding out the trio of players with a multi-hit game, senior second baseman Gage Griggs tallied two hits.

On the mound, three Spartans worked scoreless relief appearances as freshman right-hander Andrew Kummer, junior right-hander Wyatt Land, and sophomore righty Brad Benton combined to allow two hits over 3.1 scoreless innings. Kummer racked up a pair of strikeouts in his second career outing, including one with the bases loaded to end the fourth.

Game Information
Score: No. 9 Georgia 12; USC Upstate 6
Records: USC Upstate (2-3; 0-0 Big South); Georgia (3-1; 0-0 SEC)
Location: Foley Field | Athens, Ga.

How It Happened

T1: Following a pair of singles by Henry Zenor and Micah Coleman that put runners on the corners, Johnny Sweeney opened the day's scoring with a sac fly to left-center, giving Upstate the early advantage.
B2: Getting its run back, plus one, Georgia put itself on the board behind a Ryan Black two-run shot to right-center.
B3: Adding to their advantage, the Bulldogs slugged a pair of home runs in the third, the first, a solo shot from Daniel Jackson, and the second, a two-run shot from Black.
T4: Pulling Upstate within one, Clayton Campidilli exited the yard to left-center, a three-run blast, the Spartans' first homer of the day.
B6: Extending its lead, Georgia tallied five in the sixth. The first four runs came behind a pair of two-run doubles from Henry Allen and Cole Johnson, respectively. The final tally scored on a Scott Newman groundout to third.
B7: Scratching two more runs in the seventh, the Bulldogs added tallies behind a Rylan Lujo RBI double and a Jack Arcamone RBI single.
T8: Splitting the gap in left-center, Preston Lucas chased home a pair of Spartan runs, scoring Johnny Sweeney and Maloy Heaghney with the double.

Up Next for the Spartans
Returning from its midweek contest Wednesday, USC Upstate hosts its first weekend of non-conference games as the fifth iteration of the OneSpartanburg, Inc. Baseball Classic comes to Cleveland S. Harley Park. The Spartans host Northern Illinois Friday at 3 p.m., Valparaiso Saturday at 2 p.m., and NJIT Sunday at 11 a.m. ET in the event.

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