SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upsate swept a doubleheader against Longwood baseball on Thursday afternoon. In the first game, Upstate (21-11, 7-1 Big South) jumped out to an early lead in an 18-2 win. The Lancers (13-21, 4-7) hung around in a narrow 2-0 loss in game two.
 
SCORE:
 
G1          R             H            E
LWU      2             5             6
USCU    18           17           1
 
G2          R             H            E
LWU      0             2             0
USCU    2             6             0
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
Game 1:
 
USC Upstate started out on a tear, and the Spartans put the Lancers in a hole they couldn't dig out of. The home side plated four in the first inning, four in the second and six in the third inning for a 14-0 lead before the Lancers could breathe.
 
While the bullpen settled things down in the late innings, the damage had been done, and the offense never got on track for.
 
Meanwhile, USC Upstate's Troy Hamilton went 2-4 with a team-best six RBI at the plate, and Grant Sherrod added three RBI while going 2-4 at the plate.
 
Reese Dutton (5-2) earned the win on the mound for USC Upstate. He struck out six in 5.0 innings of work while giving up three hits and a walk.
 
Andrew Potojecki (2-3) took the loss after giving up 16 runs, but only nine were earned as the Lancers also committed six errors on defense. He pitched into the fourth inning.
 
Sean Gibbons struck out six in four innings for the Lancers, and he gave up two runs on four hits and two walks.
 
Game 2:
 
In game two, Logan Berrier put together a strong five inning-start for the Lancers, and he limited USC Upstate to two runs in his five innings.
 
However, USC Upstate's Mathieu Curtis struck out five in 6.0 innings. He limited a Longwood offense that had been potent in the previous seven games to one hit and one walk.
 
The Spartans took the lead with a run apiece in the fourth and fifth inning after loading the bases with two singles and a walk. Ty Tilson hit an RBI fielder's choice to get on the board, and Daniel Gernon hit a solo home run to start the fifth inning for a 2-0 lead.
 
The Lancers put the tying run on first in the seventh, but the Spartans managed to escape the jam with back-to-back strikeouts.
 
Curtis (4-2) earned the win for USC Upstate. Berrier (1-3) took the tough luck loss for Longwood.
 
Jake Cullber earned the two-inning save by closing the game out for the Spartans.
 
WHAT THEY SAID:
 
"Our response after the first game was good" said Longwood Head Coach Chad Oxendine. "We came out and competed in that second game. USC Upstate has a great team, and they played clean baseball today. We've got to continue to keep getting better and to execute, regardless of the situation."
 
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
 
Longwood had a four-game winning streak snapped.
 
The Lancers also had recorded at least 10 hits in three straight games before the streak was snapped in game one.
 
Eliot Dix went 2-2 at the plate for Longwood in the first game.
 
UP NEXT:
 
The Lancers are scheduled to play the third and final game of the series at 1 p.m. on Friday. The game is scheduled to air on ESPN+.
 
#GoWood #HorsePower