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15 Things from Wednesday's USC Upstate game

Leading Off

--South Carolina improved to 35-9 with Wednesday’s win. They also tallied their 27th win at Founders Park this season.

--Announced attendance was 7,010.

--With a single in the fifth inning, Gene Cone extended his hitting streak to 30 games. It’s currently the longest streak this season in Division I baseball. Cone also boasts a 33-game on-base streak as well.

--Tyler Johnson registered saves in back-to-back games. It’s the first time all season he’s had saves in back-to-back appearances all season. He has five saves this season.

--Josh Reagan did not pitch Wednesday because of illness. Holbrook said the junior had a rough 24 to 48 hours, but was available if need be. He also said the closer will be ready for this weekend’s series against Kentucky.

On Deck

Taylor Widener on coming out of the bullpen: “I felt good. I’ve come out of the pen for the past few years here, I don’t look at it any different if I’m starting or coming out of the pen. I just go out there and try to get the guys out.”

Taylor Widener on not allowing a hit in 3.2 innings: “It’s definitely nice not to allow any hits. You have to credit the defense; there were some plays that could have gone the other way and they were just making plays. So that helps.”

Marcus Mooney on his RBI squeeze bunt: “This past weekend I embarrassed myself, the program and everyone who knows me when I tried sac bunting. So I spent a couple hours in the cage just strictly sac bunting. I was pretty confident I was going to get it down. It didn’t have to be perfect because TJ (Hopkins) was on third.”

Marcus Mooney on Upstate’s Cody Brittain: “He was good. He had quick arm action: he was short-arming the ball so it was getting there quicker than the scoreboard was saying it was. It was hard to pick up for some guys. A couple times through after seeing it, you just had to adjust.”

Chad Holbrook on Brandon Murray’s outing: “I hope it puts him in a good spot mentally. We gave him the ball because we feel like he’s important to our team. We feel he can bring our team a lot if we can get into tournament play. He’s got a good arm and he’s throwing great: his velocity’s up, his bullpens are great, he just hasn’t thrown his off-speed pitches for strikes and tonight he threw some changeups in there and his breaking ball was better—still inconsistent, but better. And I think his command was much better. He gave us a good start tonight, and I hope it bodes well for him mentally. If he continues to throw like that it’ll bode well for our team.”

Hitting Cleanup

--South Carolina left seven runners on base. It’s their eleventh straight game stranding at least six runners on base.

--Brandon Murray tied his season high with 3.1 innings pitched Wednesday. He finished allowing one run on three hits and struck out two. He did not walk a batter.

--Reed Scott didn’t allow a run in one inning pitched Wednesday. It’s his fourth straight appearance he hasn’t allowed a run and hasn’t allowed one in six of his last seven.

--South Carolina struck out nine times against the Spartans, all coming against starting pitcher Cody Brittain. It’s the most times they struck out against a non-conference opponent since they went down 12 times against North Carolina.

--The first three hitters in the order combined to go 3-for-12 (.250) with a run scored an RBI. Dom Thompson-Williams struck out three times before a single in his final at-bat. Destino popped up twice with runners in scoring position.

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