March 18, 2008
A-Sun.TV vs. UNCA | Gametracker vs. UNCA | Gametracker vs. USC
Complete Midweek Notes in PDF Format 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Spartans will reignite a rivalry that has been dormant for 13 years when UNC Asheville heads to Harley Park for a 6 p.m. game on Tuesday. The Spartans have an 8-4 lead in the series and have never lost in Spartanburg to the Bulldogs. Asheville, who won the Big South Championship in 2006, is 6-8.
After four straight home games, the USC Upstate baseball team will hit Interstate 26 and take the trip to Columbia, S.C., where it will face the first Division I ranked opponent in school history in No. 12 South Carolina on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Gamecocks are 11-5 overall and have two Preseason All-Americans in their lineup. The Spartans last beat a Division II opponent ranked in the top 20 on April 28, 2007, when they downed Columbus State, 2-1.
A Real Record-Setter
Already the school's all-time leader in complete games (12), shutouts (4) and strikeouts (228), senior Scott Eckard added one more notch to his belt on Monday when he picked up his first career win in relief against Campbell for his 20th career win. The hard-throwing lefty passed Eric Hunter (1986-89) for the most wins in school history with 19 wins when he got out of a one-out, runner on second jam in the ninth inning of a suspended game by getting a fly out and a strikeout. The Spartans quickly scored the winning run for Eckard in the bottom of the ninth, giving him another school record.
A History of Upsets
In his decade at the helm, head coach Matt Fincher's clubs proved a thorn in the side of many of the best baseball teams in Division II. Fincher's Spartans have beaten 48 teams ranked in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine Top 30 and 20 wins have come against teams in the top 10. The Spartans even pulled off historic wins on March 23, 2003, when Upstate downed top-ranked Kennesaw State, 8-7, and on March 18, 2006 when Upstate beat top-ranked Georgia College & State University, 11-1. In all, the Spartans won at least one game against a team inside the top 25 in each of Fincher's years with the program aand have won at least one game against a team ranked in the top 10 in each of the last five years.
Walking-Off With A Sweep
Two walk-off wins highlighted Monday afternoon for the USC Upstate baseball team, as Upstate posted its first Atlantic Sun Conference series sweep in school history, defeating Campbell, 5-4, in the completion of a suspended game and finished with a 6-5 win in the second game at Harley Park. The Spartans defeated Campbell, 13-2, on Friday in the first game of the series.
In the conclusion of a game from Saturday, sophomore Jimmy Tanner singled in freshman Blake Green with the winning run in a 5-4 game in the bottom of the ninth inning to start off the festivities on Monday afternoon. In the second game, senior Kyle Bowley barreled home with two outs in the 10th inning to score on a passed ball and lift the Spartans to the sweep.
Runny's Run
Senior Andrew Runion has been on a tear for the last 10 games, hitting safely in all of them and going 17-for-41 (.415). The Simpsonville, S.C., native has recovered from a hamstring injury that kept him from the lineup for three games and has re-assumed the role of the team's heart. In the three-game set with Mercer, Runion hit home runs in back-to-back games and he added his team-leading third on Thursday at Georgia Southern. Against Campbell, Runion became the 11th player in school history to reach 100 career RBIs, as he went 6-for-13 with four runs scored during the three-game sweep of the Camels.
Kyle's Korner
Senior Kyle Bowley pitched eight innings of six-hit, one-run baseball Upstate posted a 13-2 win over Campbell on Friday afternoon. Bowley, who lowered his ERA from 1.42 to 1.33 with his performance, posted his third quality start of the season by pitching eight innings, allowing six hits and walking none. He struck out seven and faced just five batters over the minimum. He also improved to 3-1 on the season and 15-10 in his career, which is tied for the fifth-most wins in school history with Don Brock (1987-88) He also became just the fifth hurler in school history to reach the 200-career inning mark in the game and now with 135 strikeouts, he passed Chris Hawkins (1986-87), the current head softball coach, for eighth on the all-time list.
Bowley is currently tied for the Atlantic Sun Conference lead in wins (3) and complete games (1) and is third in ERA (1.33), tied for fifth in strikeouts (27) and sixth in innings pitched (27.0).
Rookie Royalty
Freshmen Keith Bisgounis, Blake Green and A.J. Clark have helped pace the Upstate offense during the last eight games. Bisgounis, who has started six games and appeared in seven games in that span, has hit safely in all his starts. He has gone 10-for-25 (.400) with six runs scored and four RBIs. He also has three doubles. Green is hitting .343 (12-for-35) with five runs, a double and four RBIs. He also has a stolen base. Clark is hitting .348 (8-for-23) with three runs and two RBIs in seven games.
Morgan's Mastery
Junior Phillip Morgan has continued to thrive early in the season, as the catcher is currently ranked among Atlantic Sun Conference leaders in two categories. Hitting .316 in 18 starts, Morgan is currently second in the conference in RBIs with 21 and tied for ninth with three homers. Morgan, after going 1-for-17 in a four-game stretch at Mercer and Georgia Southern, saw his bat heat up again on March 12 at Georgia Southern as he went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, a run and two RBIs and followed that by going 2-for-4 with three runs and an RBI on Friday against Campbell.
