SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Carlton Harper drove home the first run of the year for the Long Island University baseball team as the Sharks battled USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans defeated LIU 5-2.
 
Highlights

• Joshua Loeschorn pitched five innings, surrendering three hits and letting in one unearned run. He notched three strike outs.
• Seth Surrett went 2-4 with two doubles, giving the Sharks their first extra base hit of 2020.
• Surrett crossed the plate in the fourth inning off a Harper groundout to short.
• Giovanni Ciaccio built upon his two-hit performance yesterday with a triple and a single today. He added another stolen base to the stat sheet, giving him two for the year.
• Josh Gainer threw a scoreless inning in relief.

 
How it happened
Loeschorn struck out two hitters in the first inning. Surrett's first double came in the second inning with two outs but the Sharks could not get him home. Upstate took a 1-0 advantage in the fourth on an unearned run. LIU responded with a run in the fifth. Surrett led off the inning with a two-bagger. Tim Bechtold advanced him to third. Harper knocked him in and the game was tied at one.
 
The Spartans quickly regained the lead in the sixth, bringing home two more runs. The Sharks were held hitless through the seventh and eighth innings. Ciaccio started the ninth with a single then stole second. He moved to third on a dropped third strike and later scored on a wild pitch, cementing the final score of 5-2.
 
Up next
The series finale against USC Upstate is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Alec Huertas gets the start.