Maloy Heaghney and Tyler Lang Combined to Drive Home Nine as Baseball Earns Another Ninth-Inning Win at George Mason

Tuesday, March 31

Fairfax, Va.

3:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

15-15

George Mason

14-12

USC Upstate

George Mason

Maloy Heaghney 1st AB vs. Tennessee 2026 - EH

Photo by: Emma Hudson

3/31/2026 9:40:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

FAIRFAX, Va. – In another midweek contest that felt like a Major League Baseball Spring Training game, as it featured 14 pitchers toeing the rubber, USC Upstate baseball found a way to win, doing so with multiple ninth-inning runs. The Spartans, for the fourth time in five victories, plated the winning run in the ninth inning, coming away with a 14-10 midweek victory at George Mason.

The primary factor in the Spartans' four-run ninth inning was Patriot pitchers' seven free bases (five walks and two HBP) in the final frame, which produced all four tallies. Overall, Upstate's lineup worked 17 walks, the most worked by a Spartan lineup in one contest in program history.

Entering Tuesday's game, Upstate had two instances of a player drawing three or more walks in a contest—accomplished by one player, redshirt senior third baseman Jake Armsey. Three Spartans drew three or more walks against George Mason, paced by four walks from redshirt freshman rightfielder Trey Bentley, the first Spartan since 2020 with four-plus walks in a game.

Heading the Spartans' offensive performance against the Patriots, the duo of redshirt sophomore shortstop Maloy Heaghney and redshirt sophomore catcher Tyler Lang combined to drive home nine of Upstate's 14 runs. Heaghney notched his second five-plus RBI game of the year, collecting five RBI while Lang tied his career-high with his third four-RBI game of the season.

Extending the team's stretch of games with multiple home runs, Heaghney and Bentley both left the yard, a solo shot from Heaghney in the first and a two-run shot from Bentley in the fourth.

Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 14; George Mason 10
Records: USC Upstate (15-15; 5-4 Big South); George Mason (14-12; 7-2 A-10)
Location: Spuhler Field | Fairfax, Va.

How It Happened

T1: Putting the Spartans on the board with another first-inning home run—the third time in four games—Maloy Heagney crushed a solo shot to left-center.
B1: Answering the Spartans, George Mason used a pair of run-scoring doubles from Luciano Tenilli (two RBI) and Evan Blanchard.
B2: Adding a run of insurance, the Patriots employed a double steal to scratch a run in the second.
T4: Drawing the Spartans within a run, Trey Bentley laced a two-run shot down the rightfield line.
T6: Fighting back to regain the lead, Upstate plated three in the frame. Heaghney, punching one through the drawn-in infield, tied the game with his single before he later scored the go-ahead run on Tyler Lang's single through the left side. Lang later scored on an opposite-field single from Jake Armsey, the third and final run in the frame.
B6: Providing an immediate response, George Mason reclaimed the advantage with three runs in its half of the sixth. The Patriots' first run scored on an Upstate error before Julius Bagnerise drove home a pair.
T7: Responding to the Patriots' runs in the previous half, the Spartans regained the lead with four runs in the stanza. Adding his third and fourth RBI of the day, Heaghney drove home the tying and go-ahead runs with a single into center. Later in the inning and for the second consecutive frame, Lang drove home a run with a single through the infield, plating the final two in the seventh, his second and third RBI of the day.
B7: Battling back to tie the game, the Patriots scratched three tallies, getting the first two on a two-run single from Logan Vaughan. The tying run pushed across as George Mason took advantage of a wild pitch.
T9: Taking advantage of the free base, drawing five walks and two HBP, in the frame, Upstate pushed across four in the frame, all scored without a hit.

Notable

Stealing three bases Tuesday, Henry Zenor's total marked the highest single-game steal mark by a Spartan this season. His three steals are the most in a game by an Upstate baserunner since Scott Campbell swiped three bags versus ETSU on March 28, 2025.
Behind home runs from Maloy Heaghney and Trey Bentley, Upstate extended its streak of games with multiple homers to four. The streak is the longest since a five-game stretch from April 12-19, 2025.
Using his fourth-inning home run, Bentley extended his hitting streak to 10 games, tied with Zenor for the longest streak by a Spartan this season. The streaks are the longest by a Spartan since Johnny Sweeney's 10-game hitting streak from April 19 to May 7, 2025.
Turning a double play to end the fifth inning, Upstate extended its season-long streak of games with a twin killing to seven.
Drawing 17 walks against the Patriots, the Spartans drew the most free passes in a single game in program history. Earning four of the team's 17 walks, Bentley's total is the most individual walks in a game by a Spartan since Julian Rip drew four versus Western Kentucky on Feb. 28, 2020.

Up Next for the Spartans
Continuing its five-game road swing, Upstate faces a three-game Easter weekend set at Radford. The Spartans and Highlanders begin their series Thursday with a 6 p.m. ET first pitch.

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