Palmetto State Baseball team of the week, April 3-9: USC Upstate

USC Upstate (4-0 for the week)

(beat Western Carolina; went 3-0 vs. Longwood)

Coach Mike McGuire has directed the Spartans to an second-place finish in the Big South Conference in his first two full seasons, and it appears Upstate is on target for good things again this season.

The weekend sweep of Longwood moved USC Upstate to 8-1 in the Big South, its best conference start as an NCAA Division I school. The Spartans are in second place in the league behind Campbell - exactly as the league coaches predicted in the preseason poll.

But plenty of other conference challenges remain before Upstate and Campbell play the final week of the regular season.

Upstate's runs per game and batting average are down slightly from a season ago, but the team ERA is lower. Also, the power numbers are The Spartans have 31 homers in 33 games, compared to 40 in 58 games in 2022. Grant Sherrod has led the power surge, hitting eight homers.

Up next for the Spartans:  at South Carolina, Tuesday.

Also considered
Charleston Southern (2-1)
Clemson (3-1) - win over ranked Coastal Carolina; first ACC series win
Erskine (3-1) - three wins over ranked NCAA DII teams
Florence-Darlington Tech (3-0) - 15 straight wins; 15-0 in Region 10
Francis Marion (3-0) - winning streak at eight
Lander (3-1) -
Limestone (2-1)
North Greenville (4-1) -
South Carolina (2-1) - beat No. 13 UNC; split with No 1. LSU
USC Aiken (2-1) -
Wofford (3-1) -  

Previous winners
Jan. 23-29: Spartanburg Methodist
Jan. 30-Feb. 5: Limestone
Feb. 6-12: North Greenville
Feb. 13-19: Florence-Darlington Tech
Feb. 20-26: Southern Wesleyan
Feb. 27-March 5: Wofford
March 6-12: USC Aiken
March 13-19: South Carolina
March 20-26: North Greenville
March 27-April 2: Coastal Carolina