Johnny Sweeney Clubs Team-High-Tying Seventh Homer as Baseball's Comeback Bid Falls Short at Winthrop

Saturday, April 18

Rock Hill, S.C.

6:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

19-21, 8-9

Winthrop

26-13, 9-2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
USC Upstate	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	3	7	2
Winthrop	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	X	4	6	1

Johnny Sweeney 2nd AB vs. College of Charleston 2026 - EH

Photo by: Emma Hudson

4/18/2026 9:37:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Looking to even the series with the Eagles Saturday, USC Upstate baseball offered a late-inning rally attempt, unfortunately, seeing it fall just short in a 4-3 setback to Winthrop at Founders Field. Despite trailing 4-1 entering the seventh inning, the Spartans reeled off tallies in the seventh and eighth to set up its comeback attempt.

For the second straight night, the game proved a pitchers' duel as Upstate starting pitcher, sophomore left-handed pitcher Max Kaplan turned in team-high third quality start of the season. He scattered six hits, four runs, and three earned runs on the evening as he struck out three against no walks.

Out of the bullpen, redshirt junior right-hander Max Bianchini notched his fifth scoreless outing of the year, tossing 2.0 hitless and scoreless innings, retiring all six batters he faced as Upstate sought its comeback. He punched out a pair of Eagles in his outing.

Pacing the Spartans at the dish, fifth-year senior designated hitter Johnny Sweeney clubbed his team-lead-tying seventh home run of the year, exiting the yard to rightfield. Redshirt sophomore rightfielder Henry Zenor led the offense with a pair of hits, his team-high 20^th multi-hit effort of the campaign.

Game Information
Score: Winthrop 4; USC Upstate 3
Records: USC Upstate (19-21; 8-9 Big South); Winthrop (26-13; 9-2 Big South)
Location: Founders Field | Rock Hill, S.C.

How It Happened

T2: Making the first mark on the scoreboard, Upstate struck first behind a solo homer to right off the bat of Johnny Sweeney.
B4: Homering for the second straight night, Winthrop's Jaylen Hernandez tied the game with a solo shot to right.
B5: Breaking the deadlock, the Eagles scratched a run on an RBI single from Corey Wouters.
B6: Adding some insurance, Winthrop pushed across a pair in the sixth, scoring behind a Zach Greenburg sac fly and a Grant McGuire RBI single.
T7: Getting a run back for the Spartans, Tyler Lang ripped a double down the leftfield line, plating Trey Bentley from second.
T8: Pulling itself within a run, Upstate took advantage of a Winthrop throwing error as Sweeney scampered home to score.

Notable

Drawing a walk in the first inning, Trey Bentley extended his team-best reached base streak to 20 games. His reached base streak is the longest since Preston Lucas' 29-game streak snapped on Feb. 15 against South Alabama. Adding a double in the seventh, Bentley extended his team-long hitting streak to nine games.
In the fourth inning, Max Kaplan induced a 6-4-3 double play, his team-leading sixth induced this season. The twin killing broke a tie with Brent Stukes for the team lead.
Collecting a pair of hits Saturday evening, Henry Zenor registered his 20^th multi-hit game of the season, giving him consecutive seasons with 20 or more multi-hit games after leading the club with 26 such games last season. He's the first Spartan since Gaither Bumgardner in 2012 (21) and 2013 (27) to accomplish the feat.

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