USC Upstate Defeats Nationally-Ranked Troy Saturday
By USC Upstate Athletics
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After attempting a late-inning comeback Friday afternoon in its series opener with No. 19 Troy, USC Upstate baseball completed its comeback Saturday, using a pair of seventh-inning runs to even the series and capture the team's first victory over a ranked opponent during the 2025 season. The win gives Upstate a win over a ranked foe for the third straight season with three of the four ranked wins in said three seasons coming at Cleveland S. Harley Park.
Setting the tone, freshman left-handed pitcher Max Kaplan fashioned his second career outing of 7.0 innings or greater, turning in 7.0 innings Saturday against Troy. Just missing out on a quality start, he surrendered 10 hits and four earned runs but kept the Trojans in check as he induced a pair of double plays while picking off a baserunner. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Amp Phillips relieved Kaplan, entering the game to protect a one-run lead in the eighth, notching a pair of scoreless frames to register his first save of the season.
Remaining resilient, Upstate's offense backed its pitching, answering Troy's scoring throughout the day by scoring at least a run in each subsequent half-inning. Exiting the stretch trailing 4-3, Upstate scratched a pair of runs in the inning to retake the lead it last held in the fourth inning, scoring twice without the benefit of a hit.
Redshirt junior second baseman Alex Ritzer, recording the second of his two RBI, produced the seventh inning's first tally as junior pinch runner Gage Griggs crossed the plate ahead of a throw from the Trojans' pitcher. Giving Upstate the lead, junior leftfielder Cayden Wotipka scored on a wild pitch.