ESPNU to Televise Big South Baseball and Softball in April
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Big South baseball and softball will receive national television exposure on
ESPNU this spring when the network broadcasts the Saturday, April 5
USC Upstate at High Point baseball game at 6:30pm, as well as the Sunday, April 27
Longwood at USC Upstate softball contest at 3:00pm. The telecasts will mark the 20th baseball broadcast on ESPNU as well as the 18th consecutive season Big South softball will be televised on a linear network.
The Upstate-High Point baseball broadcast marks the second consecutive Big South regular-season appearance on the linear network and 12th overall. High Point, the defending Big South Champion and 2025 preseason Big South favorite, is off to a 5-0 start after sweeping NJIT last weekend along with a 13-7 home win over Appalachian State on Tuesday evening. The Panthers are led by
Konni Durschlag (.579),
Landon Johnson (.529, four home runs) and
Jackson Melton (.500), and are hitting .385 as a team. USC Upstate, which was second in the preseason conference ranking, is under the direction of first-year head coach
Kane Sweeney and defeated Boston College in its season opener last week. Leading the Spartans after three games are
Vance Sheahan (.500),
Scott Newman (.364) and
Jake Armsey (.364).
The April 27 softball broadcast will be the third televised match-up between Longwood and Upstate on ESPNU, as Longwood won the first national TV meeting, 2-1 in 15 innings back on March 24, 2019, while Upstate was victorious last year, 5-3, on April 6. The Spartans are the defending Big South Champions and preseason favorite this season, while the Lancers were picked second in the 2025 poll. USC Upstate has jumped out to an 8-1 start and is hitting .420 as a club after nine games with 14 home runs and 9.0 runs per game.
Amie Johnson (.545) and
Denver Lauer (.500) lead six Spartans hitting at least .400 during the young season. Longwood has two wins through eight games and have faced No. 1 Texas and No. 10 Georgia, along with Michigan State and Michigan during the first two weeks of the campaign.
Sophia Knock is the Big South Preseason Player of the Year and leads the Lancers with a .350 batting average with two home runs and eight RBI.