BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Gardner-Webb (16-24, 5-11) baseball team opened up a three-game set against USC Upstate (22-21, 9-4) with a 15-3 loss on Friday evening inside John Henry Moss Stadium.
After two scoreless frames by both sides, Upstate used the long ball in the top of the third to take a 3-0 lead. Following a bunt single, Vance Sheahan blasted a two-run homerun to left before Scott Campbell made it back-to-back with a solo shot of his own.
Gardner-Webb looked poised to cut into the deficit in the home half of the third after putting two runners on, however, a caught stealing and outfield assist double play ended the threat while leaving the Runnin' Bulldogs scoreless.
That missed opportunity proved costly as the Spartans tacked on four more runs in their next two at-bats after Wylie Waters homered to right before a run-scoring double by Henry Zenor produced the second run of the frame. USC Upstate capped the scoring following a wild pitch that allowed Gage Griggs to cross the dish. A single run in the fifth for the Spartans ballooned the lead to 7-0 halfway through.
USC Upstate blew the game wide open in the sixth and seventh, exploding for six more runs with the big blow coming from a grand slam off the bat of Scott Newman.
The Runnin' Bulldogs finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth with three runs. After back-to-back hits from Lawson Knight and Merik Carter, Dale Francis Jr. hammered his team-leading 14th homerun deep into the trees of left field, trimming the deficit to 13-3.
However, Upstate came back with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth after a double down the right field line by Johnny Sweeney while the 'Dawgs were shut down in the home half, eventually falling by the final of 15-3.
The series will continue tomorrow afternoon with a 3 o'clock first pitch from Bill Masters Field.
