CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern is back home this weekend as the Buccaneers welcome USC Upstate to Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark for a three-game series against the Spartans. First pitch in Friday's single game is set for 6 p.m., while Saturday's doubleheader is set for a 1 p.m. start time.

Weekend Schedule
Game One – Friday, April 16, 2021
Charleston Southern vs. USC Upstate
6 p.m. * Charleston, S.C. * Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark * Live Stats
Projected Starters: CSU RHP R.J. Petit (3-3, 2.86 ERA) vs. UPST RHP Jordan Marks (5-1, 1.90 ERA)

Game Two – Saturday, April 17, 2021
Charleston Southern vs. USC Upstate
1 p.m. * Charleston, S.C. * Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark * Live Stats
Projected Starters: CSU TBA vs. UPST RHP Nate Payne (0-0, 3.77 ERA)

Game Three – Saturday, April 17, 2021
Charleston Southern vs. USC Upstate
45 minutes after first game * Charleston, S.C. * Nielsen Field at CSU Ballpark * Live Stats
Projected Starters: CSU TBA vs. UPST RHP Trey Miller (1-0, 2.25 ERA)

Charleston Southern Baseball Game Notes vs. USC Upstate

Back Home Again
Charleston Southern starts their third home stand in the 2021 spring season as the Buccaneers welcome USC Upstate (Apr. 16-17) and Winthrop (Apr. 20) to Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark for a four-game swing. The Bucs are currently 6-6 in scheduled home games this season and 6-3 in contests played at Nielsen Field this spring. CSU's home schedule has been highlighted by weekend series wins over Longwood, UNC Asheville, and High Point with the Bucs winning all three of their conference matchups at home.

Bucs in Big South Play
Charleston Southern sits just outside the top four in the Big South standings this season through the first 20 games of the conference season this spring. The Bucs are currently fifth in the standings with a 10-10 record in Big South competition as we hit the midway point in conference play. Gardner-Webb (12-6) leads the way, while USC Upstate (13-7) and Campbell (11-6) are also in the hunt for the top overall seed. Presbyterian (6-5) currently is fourth in the Big South in the standings this season. The top four teams in the Big South standings will advance to the conference's postseason tournament held at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, N.C. on May 27-29.

Big South 40-Flex-10
The Big South Conference announced prior to the start of the season that the schedule would be a "40-flex-10" model this season featuring 40 conference games, while allowing for up to 10 nonconference contests on the year. The Bucs only play single series against High Point, USC Upstate, Campbell, and Radford this season, while matching up against the other conference foes multiple times on the year.

Recapping the Midweek Game
Charleston Southern was unable to get the bats going on Tuesday night in their midweek matchup against No. 11 South Carolina as the Buccaneers fell to the Gamecocks at Founder Park, 9-0.

In just their second nonconference matchup in the 2021 spring season, the Bucs were limited to four singles over the nine-inning contest as CSU stepped out of Big South play for the first time since opening weekend. MJ Sasapan, Tyrell Brewer, Christian Maggio, and Sam Trend-Beacom all put base hits in the column for CSU, while Reid Hardwick drew a walk to highlight CSU's offense on the day.

Jordan Bridges suffered the loss in his first collegiate start. The junior right-hander went one inning allowing two hits and two runs in the outing to highlight eight CSU pitchers that saw time on the mound in the contest. Hunter McIntosh, Jack Dungan, John Sendziak, and Sam Hunt all hurled scoreless frames for the Bucs.

Recapping Last Weekend
Charleston Southern dropped a conference weekend series for just the second time in the 2021 season as the Buccaneers fell in two of the three games at Jim Perry Stadium in Buies Creek, N.C. to Campbell University. The Bucs took Friday's opening game against the Camels, but Campbell rallied back to take the Saturday doubleheader to capture the series in the lone meeting between the two teams this season.

The combination of R.J. Petit and Andrew Bullock powered the Buccaneers past Campbell in the weekend opening 10-6 win over the Camels. Bullock drilled a third-inning grand slam and added a RBI groundout in the fifth inning, while Johnny Oliveira added a solo home run to guide the Bucs' offense in the game. Petit went seven strong innings allowing just one run on seven hits while striking out six in his third win of the season.

Saturday's doubleheader saw Campbell take the opener behind a strong pitching and hitting performance by the Camels' to even the series with the 12-2 win. Kyle Sandstrom had two of CSU's six hits in the contest, while Campbell was led by Spencer Packard's grand slam and Collin Wolf's two-run shot to hold off the Bucs.

In the finale, Campbell struck early in the contest and limited Charleston Southern's comeback opportunities in the 7-2 win. Sandstrom, Tyrell Brewer, and Sam Trend-Beacom recorded CSU's singles, while Alex Andronica posted a trio of walks in the game as the Bucs found ways to get on base throughout the contest against the Camels. However, CSU was unable to get the timely hit to fight their way back into the contest in the Saturday setback.

Last Time Against USC Upstate
Charleston Southern took four of the five matchups between the Bucs and USC Upstate in the 2019 season as the Buccaneers enter this weekend's contest on a four-game winning streak against the Spartans. The Bucs swept the Big South regular season series against the Spartans on May 10-11, 2019, and then topped Upstate in an elimination game at the 2019 Big South Championships at SEGRA Stadium in Fayetteville.

USC Upstate took a midweek nonconference matchup early in the season, before the Bucs swept the Spartans in a three-game Big South series prior to the conference tournament. CSU utilized strong pitching performances and key slugging throughout the weekend series with the Bucs outscoring 30-8 over the three-game set to propel the team into the postseason.

In the conference tournament elimination game, the Bucs utilized a strong start from Cody Maw and strong performances from Reid Hardwick and Jason Miller in the 6-2 victory. Maw went 7.0 strong innings, while Max Ryerson and Josh Litchfield provided key hits in the Bucs' win.

All-Time Against the Spartans
It's a relatively new opponent for the Bucs in USC Upstate as the series dates back to 2002 in the first matchup between the two programs. The Spartans took the inaugural matchup at CSU, 5-4, before going seven years in the next contest between the programs.

The teams began matching up annually starting in 2009 with USC Upstate holding the all-time 13-10 edge in the series. The Bucs are 6-5 all-time against the Spartans inside the friendly confines of Nielsen Field at the CSU Ballpark and 3-0 against Upstate in Big South play.

The Bucs are in the midst of their most successful stretch in series history with wins in five of the last six contests against the Spartans.

About USC Upstate
USC Upstate was selected third overall in the Big South's preseason baseball poll as announced by the conference office prior to the start of the 2021 season. The Spartans received 75 points and two first-place votes to sit below Campbell and Winthrop in the top three of the poll.

Upstate's projected Friday night starter, Jordan Marks, finished second to CSU's R.J. Petit in the preseason Pitcher of the Year voting. Marks was recently named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List and enters the weekend with a 5-1 overall record and 1.90 ERA on the year.

The Spartans opened the season with an 11-game winning streak as USC Upstate swept Toledo, College of Charleston, Radford, and Clemson to open the year and took the first game of the series against Campbell. Upstate has added series wins over High Point, Radford, and Gardner-Webb, while adding midweek wins over Georgia Tech and Wofford this season.

Devin Buckner paces the Spartans' offense with a .343 batting average as USC Upstate boasts a team average of .290 from the plate this season. Buckner has a team-high .958 on-base percentage, while adding eight doubles and two home runs to the mix.

Jason Matthews is the team leader with 12 doubles and three triples, while Jack Gallagher leads the team with 29 RBI. Noah Rabon has 10 doubles and three home runs to go with a .303 batting average, while Julian Rip paces the team with seven stolen bases on the year.

Alex Garbrick has recorded seven starts on the season with a 2.06 ERA and a 4-2 record on the mound, while boasting a 39:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Sawyer Worrell (2-0, 2.92 ERA) and Trey Miller (1-0, 2.25 ERA) have also posted at least four starts on the season. Kevin Davis (1-1, 0.59 ERA) has been the Spartans' primary closer on the year with five of Upstate's 13 saves on the season.

Toughest to Strikeout
Charleston Southern boasts one of the toughest players to strikeout in the nation heading into this weekend's matchup against the Spartans. Christian Maggio (2nd Big South, 11th NCAA) and Kyle Sandstrom (7th Big South) are both among the nation's best at avoiding the walk back to the dugout from the batter's box on the year.

Maggio (49 AB, 3 K) is currently 11th in the NCAA averaging just one strikeout per 16.3 at-bats on the season as the catcher has posted a .265 batting average on the season. He entered the week sitting ninth overall in the NCAA among the toughest players to strikeout among players who have lined up in a minimum 15 games. He has posted hits in seven of his last 10 games and is coming off a pinch-hit single in Tuesday's contest against South Carolina.

Big South Weekly Honors (So Far)
Charleston Southern has claimed five Big South weekly honors this season with Reid Hardwick (Player) and Connor Aldrich (Freshman) adding to the Bucs' totals on the year. The Bucs' duo joined R.J. Petit (Starting Pitcher), Dylan Stewart (Freshman), and Houston Parker (Player) who previously claimed honors earlier in the 2021 season.

Hardwick reached base in seven of his eight at-bats over the final two games of the series against High Point to pace the Bucs with a scorching .714 batting average over the weekend series. He kept his on-base streak alive throughout the weekend running it to eight consecutive games, while also scoring runs in all three contests against the Panthers.

Connor Aldrich was the Bucs' most consistent hitter at the plate throughout the High Point weekend as the freshman posted a three-hit contest on Thursday night, while carrying the hitting streak throughout all games against the Panthers. The Jacksonville, Fla. native drilled a two-run single in the fourth inning of the first game to put the Bucs ahead 3-1 early against the Panthers. He added another RBI single in the sixth of the same contest to again put CSU back in the lead in the opener.
Aldrich sparked the Bucs' rally in the second game of the weekend with a bases-loaded two-run single in the bottom of the third sparking a four-run inning as the Bucs took the lead for good. He added two runs scored and a RBI single in the series finale.

Petit, a two-time Big South Preseason Pitcher of the Year, showcased why his name is expected to be called early in June as he used just 94 pitches to get through the Longwood lineup in his first collegiate complete-game effort. Petit carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and did not allow a runner to pass second base in the Bucs' 7-0 win over the Lancers.

Stewart earned Freshman of the Week honors for the first time after the Goose Creek, S.C. native paced the Bucs' offense over the weekend. Stewart opened the weekend with a pair of RBI triples on his way to a .556 batting average over the three-game series with the Lancers. He capped off the weekend with the game-winning RBI sacrifice fly in the Bucs' 6-5 win in the series finale.

Parker paced the Bucs in hits, runs, RBI, and added a team-best three extra-base hits in the Bucs' series win over UNC Asheville. Parker provided CSU's offense in the opener against UNC Asheville on Friday as the junior connected on two of CSU's eight hits in the game and added two RBI in the Bucs' 15-3 loss. On Saturday, Parker connected on the Bucs' first home run of the 2021 season with his two-run shot putting the Bucs back in the lead in the bottom of the third inning in the eventual 15-5 win. He scored two of CSU's runs in the Bucs' win in the series finale.

Getting On-Base
Tyrell Brewer became the fourth Buccaneer to put together a 10-game on-base streak this season as the freshman connected on a pinch-hit single against South Carolina. The Orlando, Fla. native has run his streak back to March 26 against Presbyterian and posted hits in eight of the last 10 games in his longest on-base stretch over his time with the Bucs. Houston Parker (17), Kyle Sandstrom (14), and Connor Aldrich (13) have also posted double-digit on-base streaks this season, while Reid Hardwick has reached base in seven consecutive games heading into the weekend.

Bucs Among Big South Leaders
Charleston Southern continues to put up big numbers in Big South Conference play as the Buccaneers have placed several players among the leaders in the conference-only statistics on the season.

• Batting Average – Johnny Oliveira (.345, 9th)
• Slugging Percentage – Johnny Oliveira (.564, 8th)
• Runs Scored – Kyle Sandstrom (17, T-8th)
• Hits – Houston Parker (25, T-5th), Connor Aldrich (25, T-5th)
• RBI – Connor Aldrich (17, T-7th)
• Doubles – Houston Parker (6, T-6th)
• Triples – Johnny Oliveira (3, 1st), Dylan Stewart (2, T-4th)
• Stolen Bases – Kyle Sandstrom (9, 1st)
• ERA – R.J. Petit (2.27, 3rd)
• Opposing Batting Avg – R.J. Petit (.223, 6th)
• Innings Pitched – R.J. Petit (39.2, 1st), Daniel Padysak (35.1, 4th)
• Strikeouts – R.J. Petit (40, 3rd), Daniel Padysak (27, 7th)
• Appearances – Jordan Bridges (9, T-3rd)

Coming Up on the Schedule
Charleston Southern dives into Big South play as CSU is scheduled to remain in conference competition throughout the remainder of the 2021 spring season.

Next Five Series

• April 20 vs. Winthrop
• April 23-24 at UNC Asheville
• April 30 – May 1 vs. Gardner-Webb
• May 7-8 vs. Winthrop
• May 11 vs. Presbyterian