SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Gardner-Webb (21-26, 8-12) baseball team jumped out to an early lead but were unable to overcome a big first two innings from USC Upstate, falling 12–4 Saturday afternoon at Harley Park.
Gardner-Webb struck first in the opening inning. Merik Carter started the game with a single and later came around to score when Matt Ilgenfritz delivered an RBI single up the middle, giving the Runnin' Bulldogs a quick 1–0 advantage. The Spartans responded immediately in the bottom half, capitalizing on a Gardner-Webb error before Trey Bentley launched a three-run homer to right-center to put Upstate ahead 4–1.
The Spartans extended their lead in the second inning. After loading the bases, Johnny Sweeney delivered the decisive swing of the afternoon, blasting a grand slam to right-center that pushed the Upstate lead to 8–1.
Despite the early deficit, the Dawgs continued to battle offensively. Kelvin Agosto doubled in the fourth and later scored on an RBI groundout by Alejandro Sanchez to trim the margin to 8–2. Gardner-Webb continued to put runners on base throughout the afternoon, finishing with 11 hits. Ryan Kennell paced the offense with three hits, while Carter and Agosto each added two.
On the mound, Matt Stuart provided a strong relief effort for the Bulldogs. Entering in the third inning, Stuart worked five innings and allowed just one run while keeping Gardner-Webb within striking distance.
The Runnin' Bulldogs chipped away again in the eighth inning when Agosto singled up the middle to drive in Carter, cutting the deficit to 9–3. However, Upstate responded in the bottom half of the inning, using a three-run double from Jake Armsey to stretch the lead back to nine runs.
Gardner-Webb continued to compete in the ninth. Drew Ripepi singled and Ethan Liao doubled to put runners in scoring position before Carter lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home the Runnin' Bulldogs' fourth run. Kennell followed with another single to keep the rally alive, but the comeback effort ended there.
Carter finished with two hits and two runs scored, Kennell went 3-for-5, and Agosto drove in a run as part of his two-hit afternoon.
Gardner-Webb will look to salvage the third and final game of the series tomorrow afternoon. From pitch from Harley Park is slated for 2 p.m.
