Friday, May 1
Spartanburg, S.C.
6:00 p.m.
University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
20-26, 9-10
16
vs
8
Gardner-Webb
21-25, 8-11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardner-Webb | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 11 | 4 |
| USC Upstate | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | X | 16 | 16 | 1 |
Photo by: Natalia Moll
Three-Homer Evening and Double-Digit Hit Total Leads Baseball to Series-Opening Win Against Gardner-Webb
5/1/2026 11:05:00 PM | Baseball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Back inside the friendly confines of Cleveland S. Harley Park seeking to extend its 12-game series winning streak against Gardner-Webb and snap its nine-game losing skid, USC Upstate baseball accomplished both feats Friday evening, downing the Runnin' Bulldogs 16-8 to begin the club's penultimate Big South Conference series.
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Setting the tone for the evening, the Spartans pounded out 16 hits, reaching double-digit hits for the first time since recording 18 hits versus Charleston Southern on April 11, 10 games ago. Senior first baseman Wylie Waters and senior leftfielder Preston Lucas helmed a contingent of five Spartans with multi-hit efforts, collecting four and three hits, respectively, both career-high totals.
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Adding to his four-hit night, Waters drove home four runs, tying his season-high with the four RBI. Fifth-year senior designated hitter Johnny Sweeney joined Waters in tying his season-high RBI total, driving home four. The trio of Lucas, Waters, and Sweeney each homered, fashioning Upstate's first three-plus home run game since April 11 against the Buccaneers.
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On the mound, junior left-handed pitcher Chris Torres picked up his fifth win of the year, tossing 5.0 innings in his start, striking out two. Out of the bullpen, redshirt junior right-hander Max Eichenberger crafted his third straight scoreless appearance, surrendering no runs or hits over 2.0 innings of work with two punchouts.
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Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 16; Gardner-Webb 8
Records: USC Upstate (20-26; 9-10 Big South); Gardner-Webb (21-25; 8-11 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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Setting the tone for the evening, the Spartans pounded out 16 hits, reaching double-digit hits for the first time since recording 18 hits versus Charleston Southern on April 11, 10 games ago. Senior first baseman Wylie Waters and senior leftfielder Preston Lucas helmed a contingent of five Spartans with multi-hit efforts, collecting four and three hits, respectively, both career-high totals.
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Adding to his four-hit night, Waters drove home four runs, tying his season-high with the four RBI. Fifth-year senior designated hitter Johnny Sweeney joined Waters in tying his season-high RBI total, driving home four. The trio of Lucas, Waters, and Sweeney each homered, fashioning Upstate's first three-plus home run game since April 11 against the Buccaneers.
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On the mound, junior left-handed pitcher Chris Torres picked up his fifth win of the year, tossing 5.0 innings in his start, striking out two. Out of the bullpen, redshirt junior right-hander Max Eichenberger crafted his third straight scoreless appearance, surrendering no runs or hits over 2.0 innings of work with two punchouts.
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Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 16; Gardner-Webb 8
Records: USC Upstate (20-26; 9-10 Big South); Gardner-Webb (21-25; 8-11 Big South)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
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How It Happened
- T1: Jumping on the board first, Gardner-Webb scored twice in the first, plating runs on an RBI double from Kelvin Agosto and an RBI groundout from Drew Ripepi.
- B2: Answering the Runnin' Bulldogs and claiming a lead it wouldn't relinquish, Upstate pounced for five runs in the second. A two-run blast to straight-away center from Wylie Waters jumpstarted the scoring. Later in the frame, Maloy Heaghney drove home a run with a single through the left side before a Gardner-Webb throwing error led to two additional tallies.
- B3: Jumping on the first pitch he saw in the stanza, Preston Lucas' solo shot right extended the Spartan advantage.
- T4: Getting a pair of runs back for the Runnin' Bulldogs, Zack Thompson hit a two-run homer to left.
- B4: Providing the Spartans' immediate response, Johnny Sweeney crushed a three-run blast to right.
- T5: Hitting Gardner-Webb's second long ball of the evening, Agosto drove home a pair with a homer to leftfield.
- B6: Crafting the club's highest-scoring since Feb. 22 against NJIT, the Spartans struck for seven runs in the sixth. Waters began the scoring with a two-run single nestled inside the rightfield line before a squeeze bunt from Alex Ritzer produced the third tally. A Runnin' Bulldog throwing error permitted the next two tallies with a wild pitch accounting for the sixth run. The final run pushed across on a Sweeney sac fly to center.
- T8: Gardner-Webb's third home run of the night, a two-run shot from Alejandro Sanchez, produced the final tallies of the evening.
Notable
- Clubbing his eighth home run of the year, Johnny Sweeney's three-run homer in the fourth inning marked the 30th of his Upstate career, tying him with former teammate Grant Sherrod (2022-24) for the program's Division I era (2007-pres.) career home run record.
- Homering in the second inning Friday, Wylie Waters slugged his team-leading ninth home run of the season, putting him one long ball shy of a double-digit home run season. He is seeking—along with Sweeney—to become the first Spartan since Sherrod in 2023 and 2024 with consecutive double-digit home run seasons.
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: Torres, Chris (5-4)
L: ELLISON, O (5-6)
Batting:
2B: CARTER,Merik 1 ; ROSSOW,Ethan 1 ; AGOSTO,Kelvin 1
HR: AGOSTO,Kelvin 1 ; SANCHEZ,Alejandro 1 ; THOMPSON,Zack 1
RBI: AGOSTO,Kelvin 3 ; RIPEPI,Drew 1 ; SANCHEZ,Alejandro 2 ; THOMPSON,Zack 2
Base Running:
RUNS: CARTER,Merik 2 ; KENNELL,Ryan 1 ; AGOSTO,Kelvin 1 ; RIPEPI,Drew 1 ; SANCHEZ,Alejandro 2 ; THOMPSON,Zack 1
CS: RIPEPI,Drew 1 ; LIAO,Ethan 1
PO: RIPEPI,Drew 1
Batting:
2B: Heaghney, Maloy 1 ; Bentley, Trey 1
HR: Sweeney, Johnny 1 ; Lucas, Preston 1 ; Waters, Wylie 1
RBI: Heaghney, Maloy 1 ; Sweeney, Johnny 4 ; Lucas, Preston 1 ; Waters, Wylie 4 ; Ritzer, Alex 1
SF: Sweeney, Johnny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zenor, Henry 2 ; Heaghney, Maloy 3 ; Lang, Tyler 1 ; Sweeney, Johnny 1 ; Bentley, Trey 1 ; Armsey, Jake 1 ; Lucas, Preston 3 ; Waters, Wylie 2 ; Ritzer, Alex 2
CS: Waters, Wylie 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
4
RBI
4
AB
4
R
3
H
3
RBI
1
AB
6
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballUTL
/ Baseball No videos available.
