Box Score I Play-by-Play

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team outhit USC Upstate, 14-10, on Friday afternoon, but the host Spartans still beat the Colonels, 12-6, in game one of this weekend’s series at Harley Park. Upstate scored 10 of its 12 runs in the game with two outs.

Senior right-hander Matt Harris (0-1) picked up his first loss of the season for the Colonels, going 3.1 innings and allowing seven runs on four hits while walking five batters and striking out two.

Reliever Ben Augenstein (1-0) earned the win for Upstate (4-1), pitching four innings and surrendering just one run on six hits.

Junior Shaun Ball recorded a four-hit game in the losing effort, batting 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. Ball now leads the Colonels with a .381 batting average on the season. Senior Richie Rodriguez also had a big day at plate, going 2-for-5 with a home run, double, two RBI and two runs scored.

Greg Guers and Tyler Miller drove in four runs apiece for the Spartans, who have now scored double-digit runs in four of their first five games of the season.

EKU (2-3) went ahead in the top of the first as Ball singled, advanced to third on an error by Upstate third baseman Jordan Stampler and then scored on an infield hit by senior Dustin Dunlop. Upstate, however, responded with a pair of runs in its half of the first, both the result of a two-out, two run single by Guers that gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead.

After a scoreless second, EKU plated three runs in the top of the third to retake the lead. Ball, again, got things going with a leadoff single to center and then scored on a double into the left center gap by Rodriguez. After Rodriguez went to third on another single by Dunlop and scored on a base hit by sophomore Bryan Soloman, junior Austin Grisham concluded the inning’s offense with an RBI fielder’s choice that plated Dunlop and made it 4-2.

In the bottom of the third, though, Harris walked the bases loaded with one out. The next batter, Austin Liput, reached on a fielder’s choice as Brody Greer was forced out at second; however, a throwing error by Rodriguez on that play allowed Guers and Gaither Bumgardner to score and tie the game. Miller then gave the Spartans the lead when he scored Liput with a two-out double into right-center that made the score 5-4.

The Colonels’ troubles with two outs continued into the fourth as senior left-hander Greg Terry spelled Harris and surrendered a two-out, two-run base knock to Guers that upped Upstate’s lead to three, 7-4.

After Upstate added two more runs over the next two innings, EKU began to claw away at the Spartans’ five-run lead. Rodriguez led off the top of the seventh with a solo home run to right field, and then Ball scored senior Michael Garcia with an RBI single in the top of the eighth to make the score 9-6.

In the bottom of the eighth, however, Upstate delivered with two outs again, as Miller drove in two more runs with a two-out single to center that, effectively, put the game out of reach.

First pitch in game two of this weekend’s series is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. tomorrow at Harley Park.