Bats Explode in Convincing Win over Upstate

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Charleston Southern baseball snapped their four-game losing streak on Saturday, cruising to a 10-2 win over the USC Upstate Spartans at Nielson Field on Senior Day.

Offensively, the Bucs (21-25, 12-11 in conference) got it done with the long ball, as hit four home runs on the afternoon. Pitching was also outstanding throughout the day, as Sam Massey and Evan Truitt combined to strike out seven batters and allow seven hits.

Charleston Southern got on the board first in the opening inning. The first three men reached on infield singles, and Kieran Davis walked to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead. That would be all though, as the next three Buccaneer hitters were retired via the strike out.

USC Upstate (33-18, 18-5 in conference) tied the game in the top of the second inning with a solo home run off of Massey, who lasted 4.0+ innings, allowing just the one run on four hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

It was tied at one until the bottom of the fourth inning. Connor Aldrich reached on what would be the fifth infield single of the afternoon for the Bucs. Then, with two strikes, Tyrell Brewer celebrated his Senior Day with his first home run of the season to give the Bucs a 3-1 lead. Brewer was 2 for 4 on the day with two RBI.

The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Bucs bats came to life. Back-to-back home runs from Davis and James Jett that went over the left field scoreboard gave the Bucs a 5-1 lead.

The Bucs were not done yet, as eight men came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading to five runs. Nicholas Fazzari and Ike George both singled to start the inning. Then, back-to-back walks brought in the fifth run. Two batters later, Sam Low got in on the Senior-Day fun with his second home run of the year to make it 10-1.

After allowing a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning, Truitt’s final line was 5.0 innings, one run, three hits, zero walks and four strikeouts. He picked up the win to improve to 4-6 on the year.

On Senior Day, six of the ten runs scored came from the upperclassmen. Low finished 3 for 3 with 3 RBI, and Fazarri was 2 for 2 with a run scored and two sacrifice bunts.

On Deck

The rubber game of this three-game series will be on Sunday at 1 p.m. as the Bucs look to finish their 2023 home schedule with a series win over the No. 2 team in the conference. Currently, the Bucs are in fifth place in the Big South standings and are looking to secure a spot in the Big South Tournament.

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