March 26, 2012

Baseball to Host Charlotte, Gardner-Webb during Mid-week

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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After running its conference record to 5-1, the USC Upstate baseball team returns home for a pair of contests against teams from the state of North Carolina.

The Spartans will begin the mid-week with a 6 p.m. contest against Charlotte Tuesday, followed by a Wednesday night tilt with Gardner-Webb (6 p.m.).

First Pitch…

• The 2012 season marks the first season of full NCAA Division I eligibility for the Spartans... After a five-year transitional phase from D-II to D-I, Upstate is eligible for postseason play.

• Head Coach Matt Fincher is in his 15th season at the helm of the Spartan baseball program.

• The Spartans, for the third consecutive week, are ranked in the College Baseball Daily Mid-Major Top-25 Poll (Mar. 26)... The Spartans moved up a spot this week from 25th to 24th.

• Upstate also garnered votes in the NCBWA Top-25, it is the second time this season that the Spartans picked up votes in the NCBWA Poll (Mar. 12; Mar. 26).

• Upstate picked up its first-ever series win against North Florida (3/23-25/12)... David Roseboom (4-0) tossed a career-high 7.2 innings in the series opener with Chad Sobotka closing out the Ospreys for his sixth save.... In the middle game of the three-game set, David Palladino (3-1) earned the win in relief after tossing a pair of scoreless innings (7th and 8th).

• Luke Weber finished 5-for-6 at the plate with four RBI and three runs as the Spartans downed North Florida, 14-8 (3/25/12, DH Game 1)... Weber is the first Spartan since Austin Liput (3/20/10, at ETSU) to tally five or more hits in a game.

• Chris Cox earned his first victory in a Spartan uniform as he picked up the win in relief against North Carolina A&T (Mar. 20).

• Against the Aggies, the duo of Brody Greer and Luke Weber combined for seven hits, four RBI and three runs.

• Upstate outscored Lipscomb, 9-1 in the final two games of the series to claim the sweep... Scott DeCecco picked up his fourth win of the season which is tied for the A-Sun lead with eight complete innings vs. Lipscomb (Mar. 17)... In the finale, Brandon Lee tossed his second complete game shutout of the season to improve to 3-1.

• Brody Greer delivered a RBI single in the bottom of the 11th to lift Upstate to a thrilling 10-9 victory over Lipscomb in the A-Sun opener for both teams (Mar. 16)... Chad Sobotka earned the win, the second of his career.

• Upstate's 10-game win streak ended with an 11-0 setback at Charlotte (Mar. 13)... At Furman, the Spartans held a 6-0 advantage (Mid 2nd), however the Paladins scored 10 of the final 11 runs to claim the 10-7 win Mar. 14.

• Upstate's first 11 games of the season took place at the friendly confines of Harley Park (10-1).

• In Upstate's first road game of the season, Trey Richardson delivered a RBI single in the top of the 9th at The Citadel to lift Upstate to a 6-5 win (Mar. 6)... A day later the Spartans scored eight runs in the final two innings to claim an 8-1 victory at Charleston Southern.

• Chad Sobotka picked up his first career win after pitching a scoreless ninth at The Citadel.

• David Palladino picked up his second victory after allowing just one run on five hits in seven innings vs. Georgia State... Palladino struck out seven batters for the second consecutive outing... Chad Sobotka tossed a perfect ninth to earn his third save in six days.