Story provided by USC Upstate Athletics Department
They say the third time’s the charm. Well, for USC Upstate baseball, its third straight appearance in the Big South Baseball Championship Title Game culminated in the program’s first Big South Tournament Championship. For the first time in program history, the Spartans are heading to an NCAA Regional, doubling up on their Big South titles in convincing fashion behind a 14-2 victory Saturday afternoon against No. 3 seed Charleston Southern.
Upstate jumped on the board early, answering a zero in the top half of the first from the Buccaneers with three runs of its own. Tournament MVP, redshirt junior right fielder Scott Campbell, proved the team’s catalyst in the inning and the game, collecting the first of his five hits and four RBI with a double off the wall to begin the game’s scoring. He’d later close a five-run sixth inning with a solo homer—the team’s third long ball of the stanza—before capping the day’s scoring with a two-run single to right.
Beginning a three-homer frame in the sixth, redshirt junior third baseman Alex Ritzer laced a two-run shot to left, delivering two of his three RBI. Sophomore shortstop Vance Sheahan and Campbell went back-to-back in the sixth, securing the three-homer inning while junior catcher Preston Lucas launched a two-run homer to right-center in the fifth, beginning Upstate’s four-homer day.
While the bats stole the headlines in the 14-2 win, Upstate’s pitching proved the backbone of its Big South Tournament Championship as six Spartan hurlers combined to hold its opposition to 15 hits over the course of three games. Saturday, sophomore left-handed pitcher Chris Torres and redshirt junior right-hander Braden Consaul permitted five hits and two runs, earning the win and save, respectively.
Game Information
Score: No. 1 USC Upstate 14; No. 3 Charleston Southern 2
Records: USC Upstate (36-23; 19-5 Big South); Charleston Southern (31-22; 14-10 Big South)
Location: Truist Point | High Point, N.C.
How It Happened
B1: Driving the ball to deep center, Scott Campbell began the day’s scoring with a double off the wall. The Spartans’ second and third runs came home on a passed ball, scoring Vance Sheahan, and a rundown, allowing Campbell to cross, capping a three-run first.
B4: Executing a squeeze play, Alex Ritzer laid down a perfect bunt up the first base line to send Gage Griggs across to score.
B5: Going back-to-back with run-scoring extra-base hits, Scott Newman and Preston Lucas used an RBI double and a two-run jack to expand the Spartan advantage.
T6: Scratching their first run of the day, Charleston Southern used a sac fly from Nathan Martinez to tally the score.
B6: Answering the Buccaneers in a big way, Upstate launched three homers in a five-run frame. Ritzer started the inning with a two-run shot before Sheahan and Campbell went back-to-back with a two-run blast and a solo shot to close the inning.
B7: Picking up his fifth hit of the afternoon, Campbell recorded RBI numbers three and four as his single shot to right drove home Jake Armsey and Zenor.
T9: Scratching another Buccaneer tally, Gavin Bogdanchik hit a solo shot to left-center.
Notable
Winning the 2025 Big South Baseball Championship, USC Upstate secured the program’s first-ever Big South Tournament Title, the program’s second conference tournament championship, joining the 1990 NAIA District Six Playoff Championship Team.
Doubling up on its Big South Baseball Championships, taking the Regular Season and Tournament Championships, the Spartans are the first league program since Campbell in 2023 to win both titles in the same season.
Up Next for the Spartans
USC Upstate’s NCAA Regional assignment will be determined Monday as the NCAA Selection Show features on ESPN2 at noon ET.
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