Saturday, May 16
Spartanburg, S.C.
1:00 p.m.
University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
29-27
10
vs
9
Northern Kentucky
25-28
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Kentucky | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 13 | 0 |
| USC Upstate | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | X | 10 | 12 | 3 |
Photo by: Natalia Moll
Baseball Runs Winning Streak to Six, Earning Senior Day Come-From-Behind Victory over Northern Kentucky
5/16/2026 7:54:00 PM | Baseball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Continuing the week's trend of come-from-behind victories, USC Upstate baseball closed the 2026 regular season with another comeback win, knocking off Northern Kentucky, 10-8, Saturday afternoon at Cleveland S. Harley Park. The Spartans enter the postseason riding a six-game winning streak, wrapping the regular season 10-1 in May.
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Completing its comeback Friday with eight unanswered runs, Upstate pushed its streak to 10 with a pair of tallies in the first inning. The Spartans built a 6-3 lead heading into the middle innings before, for the first time this weekend, Northern Kentucky erased its opponent's multi-run lead—the Norse had squandered seven-run advantages in each of its prior two games this weekend—with a five-run fifth-inning.
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Upstate provided its response in the form of a three-run, no-doubt, go-ahead home run from senior leftfielder Brady Small in the sixth inning, his third long ball of the campaign. The Spartans added a run of insurance in the sixth, allowing them to fend off a ninth-inning tally from the Norse to preserve the 10-9 victory.
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Joining Small with multi-RBI games, redshirt sophomore shortstop Maloy Heaghney and redshirt sophomore rightfielder Henry Zenor each collected two RBI. The duo, along with redshirt freshman centerfielder Trey Bentley and fifth-year senior Johnny Sweeney, all notched multi-hit days with Zenor leading the Spartans with three hits.
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On the mound, redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Jacob Kirby turned in a career-long 4.0 innings, scattering four hits and one run while striking out three batters. Senior righty Juan Reyes notched his sixth scoreless outing of the season, tossing 2.0 scoreless frames.
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Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 10; Northern Kentucky 9
Records: USC Upstate (29-27; 13-11 Big South); Northern Kentucky (25-28; 12-12 Horizon)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
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How It Happened
Notable
Up Next for the Spartans
After securing its spot in the 2026 Big South Baseball Championship, USC Upstate begins its quest for back-to-back Big South Tournament Championships next Wednesday as postseason play begins from HomeTrust Park in Asheville, N.C. Seedings for the tournament will be announced at 10 a.m. ET Sunday by the Big South Conference.
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Connect with the SpartansÂ
Facebook.com/UpstateAthleticsÂ
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartansÂ
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartansÂ
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
INVEST IN CHAMPIONS - Join the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF) and enjoy enhanced benefits for your support of all USC Upstate programs! Make your gift today, click here!
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Completing its comeback Friday with eight unanswered runs, Upstate pushed its streak to 10 with a pair of tallies in the first inning. The Spartans built a 6-3 lead heading into the middle innings before, for the first time this weekend, Northern Kentucky erased its opponent's multi-run lead—the Norse had squandered seven-run advantages in each of its prior two games this weekend—with a five-run fifth-inning.
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Upstate provided its response in the form of a three-run, no-doubt, go-ahead home run from senior leftfielder Brady Small in the sixth inning, his third long ball of the campaign. The Spartans added a run of insurance in the sixth, allowing them to fend off a ninth-inning tally from the Norse to preserve the 10-9 victory.
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Joining Small with multi-RBI games, redshirt sophomore shortstop Maloy Heaghney and redshirt sophomore rightfielder Henry Zenor each collected two RBI. The duo, along with redshirt freshman centerfielder Trey Bentley and fifth-year senior Johnny Sweeney, all notched multi-hit days with Zenor leading the Spartans with three hits.
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On the mound, redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Jacob Kirby turned in a career-long 4.0 innings, scattering four hits and one run while striking out three batters. Senior righty Juan Reyes notched his sixth scoreless outing of the season, tossing 2.0 scoreless frames.
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Game Information
Score: USC Upstate 10; Northern Kentucky 9
Records: USC Upstate (29-27; 13-11 Big South); Northern Kentucky (25-28; 12-12 Horizon)
Location: Cleveland S. Harley Park | Spartanburg, S.C.
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How It Happened
- B1: Continuing its streak of unanswered runs against the Norse, Upstate struck twice in the opening frame, scoring behind RBI singles from Trey Bentley and Jake Armsey.
- T2: Getting a run back, Northern Kentucky's Mark Nowak stole home on a throw down to nab a runner at second on a borderline pitch for ball four.
- B2: Reclaiming their run and then some, the Spartans plated three in the second. Back-to-back doubles from Henry Zenor and Maloy Heaghney drove home the first tallies with Johnny Sweeney knocking in the last.
- T3: Taking a pair of runs back, the Norse scored twice in the frame. Josh Williams began the scoring with a solo shot to right-center before Braydon Rogers plated another with a single to left-center.
- B3: Running the scoring to five straight half innings, Upstate plated a run with an RBI single through the box from Maloy Heaghney.
- T5: Grabbing the lead for the first time, Northern Kentucky pushed across five tallies in the fifth. The biggest hits in the stanza came in the forms of a two-run single from Alex Brazer and a two-run double from Williams.
- B6: With one swing, Brady Small reclaimed the lead for Upstate as he belted a no-doubt, three-run blast to right-center on the first pitch of his third plate appearance. The Spartans picked up a crucial insurance run later in the frame off an RBI single from Zenor.
- T9: Drawing the final margin to a run, the Norse's Pierce Bauerle hit a solo homer to left-center to lead off the frame.
Notable
- Prior to Saturday's game, Upstate honored a 10-member senior class ahead of their final home game. The class included Director of Operations Emma Hudson, Jake Armsey, Gage Griggs, Reece Hemmerling, Preston Lucas, Juan Reyes, Alex Ritzer, Brady Small, Johnny Sweeney, and Wylie Waters.
- Closing the regular season on a six-game winning streak, the streak ties for the program's longest winning streak under head coach Kane Sweeney—the fourth six-game winning streak during his coaching tenure. The streak is the longest for the Spartans since sweeping UNC Asheville from May 15-17, 2025, and the Big South Tournament from May 22-24, 2025.
Up Next for the Spartans
After securing its spot in the 2026 Big South Baseball Championship, USC Upstate begins its quest for back-to-back Big South Tournament Championships next Wednesday as postseason play begins from HomeTrust Park in Asheville, N.C. Seedings for the tournament will be announced at 10 a.m. ET Sunday by the Big South Conference.
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Connect with the SpartansÂ
Facebook.com/UpstateAthleticsÂ
Twitter | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartansÂ
Instagram | @UpstateBSB | @UpstateSpartansÂ
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
INVEST IN CHAMPIONS - Join the Upstate Athletic Fund (UAF) and enjoy enhanced benefits for your support of all USC Upstate programs! Make your gift today, click here!
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kirby, Jacob (4-1)
L: Castaneda, Mj (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Williams, Josh 2 ; Nowak, Mark 1
HR: Bauerle, Pierce 1 ; Williams, Josh 1
RBI: Bauerle, Pierce 1 ; Paulick, Jake 1 ; Williams, Josh 3 ; Rogers, Braydon 1 ; Brazer, Alex 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bauerle, Pierce 1 ; Paulick, Jake 1 ; Williams, Josh 1 ; Harrison, Marcus 1 ; Thomas, Ethan 1 ; Nowak, Mark 2 ; Krumins, Peter 1 ; Brazer, Alex 1
SB: Bauerle, Pierce 1 ; Harrison, Marcus 1 ; Nowak, Mark 2 ; Friedberg, Hunter 1
CS: Bauerle, Pierce 1 ; Rogers, Braydon 1
HBP: Bauerle, Pierce 1 ; Harrison, Marcus 1 ; Springmeyer, Landon 1
Batting:
2B: Zenor, Henry 1 ; Heaghney, Maloy 1
HR: Small, Brady 1
RBI: Zenor, Henry 2 ; Heaghney, Maloy 2 ; Sweeney, Johnny 1 ; Bentley, Trey 1 ; Armsey, Jake 1 ; Small, Brady 3
SH: Armsey, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zenor, Henry 2 ; Heaghney, Maloy 1 ; Lang, Tyler 1 ; Sweeney, Johnny 1 ; Bentley, Trey 1 ; Small, Brady 2 ; Ritzer, Alex 2
SB: Ritzer, Alex 1
CS: Zenor, Henry 1
HBP: Heaghney, Maloy 1 ; Lang, Tyler 1 ; Waters, Wylie 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
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