SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Presbyterian College was
unable to win the second game in eight days against nearby USC Upstate, falling
by a 16-6 score Wednesday evening.
The Blue Hose now stand at 5-24 on the season.
Leading the way for head coach Elton Pollock's team was redshirt-senior Jared
Combs, who belted out two hits, one of which was a solo homer. He also scored
twice.
Cory Lyda
kept his hitting streak together, earning one hit while driving in two. Rookie
Kenny Bryant had a hit and one RBI. Andrew Williams and Jeffrey Tatum each
posted one base knock.
PC started
out the game in fine fashion as Jesse Harmon walked and moved to second on Mack
Hite's single through the left side. Lyda drove them both home as he singled
through the right side which gave the Blue Hose a 2-0 lead.
The
Spartans took the lead in the bottom of the half and never relinquished the
role, scoring four times in their first at bat.
However, PC
battled back, cutting the deficit to one in the second. That's when Lyda's
sacrifice fly plated Gabe Grammer, who had reached on a single up the middle.
Trailing
6-3 heading into their third at bat, Combs ripped an 0-2 offering over the
center field wall, which made the score 6-4.
Each of the
offenses were at a standstill until the fifth inning. When PC came to bat,
Combs doubled to the right center field gap with one away. He came around to
score when Rhinesmith singled to center, pulling the team within one.
The
Spartans broke open the contest in the bottom half of the frame, scoring eight
times to take a 14-5 lead. USC Upstate tacked on two runs in the seventh,
upping the score to 16-5.
PC's bats
never let up as Horton sent a solo shot over the right field fence to start the
eighth. The Blue Hose added another extra base hit in the stanza, but could do
no more.
PC ended
the game with six runs on 11 hits without committing a miscue while USC Upstate
tallied 16 runs on 14 hits with one error.
Joe Hammond
took the loss for PC, giving up three runs without getting an out. Matt
Nodelman, Will Freeman, Charlie Abbott, Stewart Curry, Jordan Pace and Travis
McConnell all saw sometime on the mound.
The Blue
Hose return to action Friday when they host Winthrop in the first game of a three-game
set. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m.
