SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Charleston Southern baseball fell on the road to USC Upstate Friday night after surrendering 11 runs in the first three innings. The Bucs were able to find themselves back in the mix in the later innings, outscoring the Spartans 8-2 in the final six frames before ultimately falling 13-8 at Harley Park.
 
USC Upstate (20-15, 9-5 Big South) opened the contest in a big way, finding six runs in the first frame. Five-straight singles in the first resulted in five of the first six runs before a ball straight back to Kaleb Hill on the mound scored Adam Grob to make it a 6-0 game.
 
The Spartans continued to stay hot at the plate in the early going, plating five more runs in the third. Grant Sherrod's double down the left field line emptied the once loaded bases to preface Cameron MacIntosh's two-run single.
 
Charleston Southern (14-21, 6-8 Big South) found the board in the fourth in effort to turn the tide and get back into things down the stretch. Ryan Waldschmidt was the first to answer the call, hitting a solo-shot to left. It was then Ajay Sczepkowski that followed suit in the fifth, hitting his first of two two-run blasts to left to chip away.
 
Peyton Mills continued the rally in the fifth with a single to center, plating Connor Carter and putting two more Charleston Southern runners in scoring position. Austen Izzio capped the frame off making the most of an RBI chance, scoring Waldschmidt on a sacrifice fly.
 
USC Upstate answered back with two in the home-half of the fifth on a pair of doubles down the line for some insurance. Troy Hamilton and Easton Cullison were the two to credit for the Spartan runs in the frame.
 
The Buccaneers would not go quietly in the final frames as Carter's single brought Sczepkowski around to score in the sixth and Sczepkowski found his second two-run shot of the contest in the eighth, but that would be it in the scoring department for the Bucs. Hayden Harris recorded three hits in the contest to continue his excellent season at the dish thus far.
 
Kaleb Hill (L, 3-4) gets the loss for Charleston Southern after working through just two complete, surrendering 11 earned runs on nine hits and three walks. Chandler Woolridge tossed two scoreless frames and Krishna Raj looked dominate in the closing frames, getting the final 10 outs for the Bucs, giving up just one hit.
 
Austin Morgan (W, 4-2) picks up the win after lasting 4.1 innings and being charged with four earned across six hits and four walks.

"It's hard to win when you allow 11 runs to cross the plate in the first three innings," said Head Coach Marc MacMillan. "Despite being down 11-0, we showed the fight that's inside this group of young men & got ourselves back in the game. Chandler just gets better. And how about Raj? He wants the ball and has a competitive spirit that I respect. He continues to show why he's one of the best pitchers in the Big South. As for us, we'll continue to teach as staff, learn as team, and love one another as we move forward."

UP NEXT
Charleston Southern will look to avoid the sweep at USC Upstate Saturday afternoon in the series finale. The action is set for a 2:00 p.m. first pitch from Harley Park.