A Historic 2023 Season Comes to a Close With a 3-2 Setback Against No. 1 Campbell in the Championship Game of the Big South Baseball Championship
Fighting its way back to qualify for a conference championship game for the first time in program history, USC Upstate baseball left it all on the field as it battled until the very end, seeing its historic 2023 season come to a close Saturday afternoon against No. 1 seed Campbell with a 3-2 decision.
Taking the ball for the Spartans, redshirt sophomore right-hander Jake Cubbler—the team’s closer—put forth a Herculean effort as he pitched a career-long outing in both innings (6.0) and pitches (100) as he stymied the Campbell offense throughout the day. He scattered four hits and allowed just one run, stranding nine Camel baserunners as he left the game with a one-run lead as Upstate looked to force a winner-take-all game for the 2023 Big South Baseball Championship title.
For the fourth straight game in the tournament, the Spartans struck first as sophomore designated hitter Jace Rinehart dumped a single into right to drive home redshirt junior first baseman Grant Sherrod who tripled off the top of the wall in right. Upstate tacked on an insurance run in the fourth as junior second baseman Easton Cullison, after working a leadoff walk and stealing his 25th bag of the year, scored on a sac fly into the deep rightfield corner from redshirt junior left fielder Daniel Gernon.
Trailing by two into the bottom of the sixth, Campbell began to scratch its way back into the game, drawing a bases-loaded walk to trim the Spartan advantage. In the eighth, the Camels swung the momentum using back-to-back solo homers to tie the game and take the lead, withstanding a Spartan threat in the ninth to hold on for the win.
Source: foxcarolina
