Saturday, April 11
Spartanburg, S.C.
2:00 p.m.
University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
19-17, 8-6
15
vs
9
Charleston Southern
20-13, 5-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston Southern | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 0 |
| USC Upstate | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 15 | 18 | 0 |
Photo by: Catherine Harney
Wylie Waters Nears Cycle, Drives Home Four Headlining Baseball's Series-Clinching Victory over Charleston Southern
4/11/2026 7:58:00 PM | Baseball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Entering the day with a chance to capture another Big South Conference series as the league season hits its midway point, USC Upstate baseball's bats backed solid pitching and defense Saturday, leading to a 15-9 win over Charleston Southern at Cleveland S. Harley Park. Winning the series, Upstate captured its fifth straight series victory and seventh straight overall victory against the Buccaneers.
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Powered by four home runs, Upstate's offense broke out for 15 runs, building upon the momentum of its nine runs scored on Friday night. Breaking a 3-3 deadlock in the home half of the second, the Spartans posted their third-highest scoring frame of the campaign, plating eight runs behind the team's first three-homer inning of the season—the first since a three-homer sixth inning against the same Buccaneers in last season's Big South Title Game.
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A grand slam shy of the home run cycle in the stanza, Upstate received a two-run home run from redshirt sophomore rightfielder Henry Zenor before redshirt freshman centerfielder Trey Bentley immediately followed with a solo shot, giving the Spartans back-to-back homers for the second time this season. Part of his standout afternoon, senior first baseman Wylie Waters cranked a three-run jack to conclude the three-homer frame.
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Waters, himself, finished a single shy of the cycle, collecting a double in the first, the aforementioned homer in the second, and an RBI triple in the third—just missing his second long ball. He registered four RBI in the contest, tying a season-high with his second four-RBI contest this week.
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Joining Waters with three-hit days, senior leftfielder Preston Lucas, redshirt senior third baseman Alex Ritzer, and Zenor each notched three knocks while redshirt sophomore catcher Tyler Lang tallied two hits for a multi-hit effort. The trio of Lucas, Ritzer, and Zenor recorded multi-RBI games with two, two, and three RBI apiece.
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Taking the ball on the bump for the Spartans, sophomore left-handed pitcher Max Kaplan turned in Upstate's longest start of the season, working 7.1 innings. The southpaw at one point in his outing retired 14 straight Buccaneers and finished his afternoon with four strikeouts against one walk.
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Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 15; Charleston Southern 9
Records: USC Upstate (19-17; 8-6 Big South); Charleston Southern (20-13; 5-6 Big South)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
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How It Happened
Notable
Connect with the SpartansÂ
Facebook.com/UpstateAthleticsÂ
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartansÂ
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartansÂ
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
TICKETS ON-SALE FOR SPARTY'S BALL – MAY 15th
Support USC Upstate student-athletes at Sparty's Ball, the largest fundraising event of the year for the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF), to be held Friday, May 15, 2025, at The Piedmont Club. For tickets, sponsorship, and auction information, click here!
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Powered by four home runs, Upstate's offense broke out for 15 runs, building upon the momentum of its nine runs scored on Friday night. Breaking a 3-3 deadlock in the home half of the second, the Spartans posted their third-highest scoring frame of the campaign, plating eight runs behind the team's first three-homer inning of the season—the first since a three-homer sixth inning against the same Buccaneers in last season's Big South Title Game.
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A grand slam shy of the home run cycle in the stanza, Upstate received a two-run home run from redshirt sophomore rightfielder Henry Zenor before redshirt freshman centerfielder Trey Bentley immediately followed with a solo shot, giving the Spartans back-to-back homers for the second time this season. Part of his standout afternoon, senior first baseman Wylie Waters cranked a three-run jack to conclude the three-homer frame.
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Waters, himself, finished a single shy of the cycle, collecting a double in the first, the aforementioned homer in the second, and an RBI triple in the third—just missing his second long ball. He registered four RBI in the contest, tying a season-high with his second four-RBI contest this week.
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Joining Waters with three-hit days, senior leftfielder Preston Lucas, redshirt senior third baseman Alex Ritzer, and Zenor each notched three knocks while redshirt sophomore catcher Tyler Lang tallied two hits for a multi-hit effort. The trio of Lucas, Ritzer, and Zenor recorded multi-RBI games with two, two, and three RBI apiece.
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Taking the ball on the bump for the Spartans, sophomore left-handed pitcher Max Kaplan turned in Upstate's longest start of the season, working 7.1 innings. The southpaw at one point in his outing retired 14 straight Buccaneers and finished his afternoon with four strikeouts against one walk.
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Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 15; Charleston Southern 9
Records: USC Upstate (19-17; 8-6 Big South); Charleston Southern (20-13; 5-6 Big South)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
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How It Happened
- B1: Seeing its first four hitters reach with a base hit and three straight walks, Upstate pushed across three runs in the opening frame. A bases-loaded walk to Johnny Sweeney began the scoring before successive sac flies from Jake Armsey and Preston Lucas added the next two tallies.
- T2: Answering the Spartans, Charleston Southern scratched three of its own in the following half inning. A single from Nathan Martinez and a double from Kain Collins plated a pair before Blake Edgmon tied the game with a groundout to third.
- B2: Providing their immediate answer to the Buccaneers, the Spartans pounced for eight runs in the second inning, thanks in large part to three long balls. Home runs from Henry Zenor, Trey Bentley, and Wylie Waters combined to drive in six of the eight runs in the inning with Zenor and Alex Ritzer adding the others with their second hits of the frame.
- B3: Tacking on to its advantage, Upstate scored twice more in the third using an RBI single from Lucas and an RBI triple from Waters.
- B5: Extending the Spartans' lead further, Ritzer drove home another with a single back through the middle.
- T8: Fashioning its highest-scoring inning of the afternoon, Charleston Southern scratched four in the frame. Four consecutive Buccaneers recorded RBI with a single from John Emendorfer, a groundout from Alex Marot, a groundout from Cross Yarborough, and a single from Ethan Reader.
- B8: Getting a run back, Upstate's Brady Small launched his first career home run, a no-doubt blast to center.
- T9: Scratching the final two runs of the ballgame, the Buccaneers scored behind a solo shot from Garrison Barile and a walk issued to Marot.
Notable
- Slugging three home runs in the second inning, the frame marked the first this season to feature three Upstate home runs. The stanza was the third to feature multiple Spartan homers, joining the first and eighth innings Tuesday at Western Carolina.
- The frame marked the first three-homer inning for Upstate since the Big South Title Game on May 24, 2025, versus Charleston Southern. The Spartans had two such innings last season.
Connect with the SpartansÂ
Facebook.com/UpstateAthleticsÂ
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartansÂ
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartansÂ
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
TICKETS ON-SALE FOR SPARTY'S BALL – MAY 15th
Support USC Upstate student-athletes at Sparty's Ball, the largest fundraising event of the year for the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF), to be held Friday, May 15, 2025, at The Piedmont Club. For tickets, sponsorship, and auction information, click here!
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kaplan, Max (3-3)
L: SMITH,Aydan (2-2)
Batting:
2B: WOLFLEY,Caden 1 ; COLLINS,Kain 1
HR: BARILE,Garrison 1
RBI: EMENDORFER,John 1 ; MAROT,Alex 2 ; YARBOROUGH,Cross 1 ; READER,Ethan 1 ; MARTINEZ,Nathan 1 ; COLLINS,Kain 1 ; BARILE,Garrison 1 ; EDGMON,Blake 1
SH: READER,Ethan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WOLFLEY,Caden 1 ; WRIGHT,Tyler 1 ; EMENDORFER,John 1 ; MAROT,Alex 1 ; PRINGLE,Lucas 1 ; MARTINEZ,Nathan 1 ; BARILE,Garrison 1 ; CZECH,Ean 2
SB: COLLINS,Kain 1
HBP: WRIGHT,Tyler 1
Batting:
2B: Lucas, Preston 1 ; Waters, Wylie 1 ; Ritzer, Alex 2
3B: Waters, Wylie 1
HR: Zenor, Henry 1 ; Small, Brady 1 ; Bentley, Trey 1 ; Waters, Wylie 1
RBI: Zenor, Henry 3 ; Small, Brady 1 ; Bentley, Trey 1 ; Sweeney, Johnny 1 ; Armsey, Jake 1 ; Lucas, Preston 2 ; Waters, Wylie 4 ; Ritzer, Alex 2
SF: Armsey, Jake 1 ; Lucas, Preston 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zenor, Henry 2 ; Small, Brady 1 ; Bentley, Trey 2 ; Lang, Tyler 2 ; Campidilli, Clayton 1 ; Armsey, Jake 1 ; Lucas, Preston 2 ; Waters, Wylie 1 ; Griggs, Gage 1 ; Ritzer, Alex 2
SB: Griggs, Gage 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
4
AB
5
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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