Brent Stukes Turns In Career-Long Outing with Career-Best Nine Strikeouts as Baseball Falls in Extras at Longwood

Saturday, March 21

Farmville, Va.

3:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

12-12, 0

Longwood

16-7, 0

USC Upstate

Longwood

Photo by: Ryan Frye

3/21/2026 7:39:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

FARMVILLE, Va. – Heading to extra innings for the first time this season, USC Upstate baseball fell on the wrong side of the decision in a game that featured an identical final score to the night prior, 5-4, Saturday afternoon against Longwood.

Taking the bump for the Spartans, junior right-handed pitcher Brent Stukes turned in the longest start by an Upstate pitcher this season, tossing 7.0 frames while striking out nine, both career highs. In relief, redshirt freshman right-hander Jacob Kirby secured his eighth scoreless outing of the campaign, working 2.0 innings with one strikeout. Redshirt junior righty Max Eichenberger punched out two in his 0.2 innings of work.

Using a pair of productive outs, a sac fly and RBI groundout, redshirt sophomore catcher Tyler Lang notched the Spartans' lone multi-RBI game, driving home two. From the leadoff spot, redshirt sophomore centerfielder Henry Zenor picked up two hits, the lone multi-hit game for Upstate.

Game Information
Score: Longwood 5; USC Upstate 4 [10 inn.]
Records: USC Upstate (12-12; 3-2 Big South); Longwood (16-7; 2-3 Big South)
Location: Buddy Bolding Stadium | Farmville, Va.

How It Happened

B1: Scratching the game's first run for the second straight contest, Longwood scored on a Jae'den Carter groundout to first, scoring Brogan Jones from third.
B2: Taking advantage of an Upstate fielding error, the Lancers pushed across a pair, staking a three-run lead after the second.
T3: Providing an instant response, Upstate scored thrice in the third. Ripping a single through the right side, Henry Zenor plated the first before consecutive sac flies from Tyler Lang and Johnny Sweeney tied the game.
B7: Breaking a 3-3 deadlock, Max Lawson slugged a solo shot to left for the Lancers.
T8: Battling back to tie the game for the Spartans, Tyler Lang drove home the tying run with a groundout to short.
B10: Busting the deadlock, Lucas Johnson doubled home the game-winning run as he lifted a ball just out of the reach of the Upstate outfield in right-center.

Notable

Striking out nine hitters Saturday, Brent Stukes' career-high strikeout count marked the highest single-game total for a Spartan pitcher this season. He bests Max Kaplan (seven versus Western Carolina) and Chris Torres (seven versus Texas) for the mark this year while his total marks the best single-game total by a Spartan since Amp Phillips struck out nine versus Clemson on May 30, 2025.
Working 7.0 innings for Upstate, Stukes's start marked the longest by a Spartan starting pitcher this season. His start is the longest by an Upstate starter since May 22, 2025, when Amp Phillips tossed a complete game against Winthrop.
Working 2.0 scoreless innings Saturday, Jacob Kirby secured his eight scoreless outing of the season, leading all Upstate pitchers. Last season, only two Spartans, Braden Consaul and Cooper Ellingworth, worked more scoreless outings with 12 and 11, respectively.
Heading to extras Saturday, the game marked the first since a 15-inning game on April 18, 2025, versus UNCG to see Upstate play extra frames.

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