Tag: USC Upstate

Jake Diebler welcomes back former Ohio State coach to his staff

Welcome back coach!

As the college basketball season is winding down, we are starting to see new Ohio State basketball head coach [autotag]Jake Diebler[/autotag] round out his coaching staff.

One Monday, one of those dominoes fell as it was announced that [autotag]Dave Dickerson[/autotag] has returned to Columbus as the associate head coach. The former Maryland forward turned to coaching shortly after his playing career ended, and he moved up the ranks and held the same title for the Buckeyes from 2010 through 2017.

Dickerson recently was the head coach at University of South Carolina Upstate, where he didn’t fare all that well going 10-20 on the year.

Regardless of Dickerson’s record, he was an instrumental part of Thad Matta’s successful run and will now hope to duplicate that as a member of Diebler’s staff.

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Kentucky baseball sweeps USC Upstate to open season

Kentucky baseball sweeps USC Upstate and begins the 2024 season with a 3 – 0 record.

Baseball season is underway, and the Kentucky Wildcats have begun the year with a three-game sweep of USC Upstate. They won the three games by a combine score of 23 – 10.

The Cats opened up the series on Friday with an 11 – 7 victory. Nick Lopez was the star of that one, having gone 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. They also got a solid start from pitcher Travis Smith.

On Saturday, the pitching won the day. Dominic Niman went five innings without giving up a run, and the bullpen shut them out the rest of the way. James McCoy was 2-for-3 at the plate.

Sunday’s finale saw the Wildcats offense explode in a 9 – 3 win. Ty Crittenberger went 3-for-4 with a home run and drove in two. Eli Small and Lukas Schramm also went deep. Kentucky got another strong pitching perfomance as well, as Mason Moore went 5 1/3 innings and gave up just two runs.

It’s a strong start for the Kentucky baseball team, who would love to repeat the start that the 2022 team had when they began with seven straight wins. Up next for Kentucky is Morehead State. The Wildcats beat them the last time they met 15 – 1.

French connects when Tigers needed it most

There has been a tremendous show of talent on the field for Clemson so far this baseball season. It seems as though each week there’s been a different player to step up to the plate and lock in the win for the Tigers. Jonathan French was one of …

There has been a tremendous show of talent on the field for Clemson so far this baseball season. It seems as though each week there’s been a different player to step up to the plate and lock in the win for the Tigers.

Jonathan French was one of those key playmakers in the game against USC Upstate.

Caden Grice has been known to be in those shoes. When asked about Grice and the rest of the Tigers’ lineup performance, French answered, “I think it shows that we compete one through nine every pitch we’re in there. Everyone’s in the dugout locked in every single game, every single pitch, and we all have that mindset that it’s going to be me that day.”

Even though there might be extra weight on a single player for a couple games, or a weekend, French knows how much pressure it can be to constantly lean on the same person. In an effort to avoid that, he stated, “We’re still going to go up there and try to put together good at-bats and find ways to change the game ourselves.”

When the Tigers needed it most, French came up clutch in the bottom of the eighth to slam a ball left for a home run, giving the Tigers an 8-5 lead against USC Upstate.

French was confident that once the ball left his bat it was going to be the play he had hoped for. He took a quick glance at his first home run on the season while jogging outside the box to take his victory lap to home
plate

“The home run was amazing,” French said. “Great feeling, and I connected with the ball. Stuck to my approach. Just a great experience.”

It was a two-out count, and French took his coach’s advice.

“Coach Lee gave me the ‘stay on your pitch,’ and that would be a fastball right down the middle,” he said. “And I told myself, if I get it, I’m not going to be late on it, I’m going to be on time and put a good swing on it, and that’s just what happened.”

The Tigers needed this momentum, leading to Dylan Brewer adding a two-run homer soon after.

Clemson is now 8-0 on the season. It’s a big weekend for the Tigers as they hope to stay undefeated against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Tennessee defeats USC Upstate

The Vols defeat USC Upstate.

No. 18 Tennessee (8-2) defeated USC Upstate (2-8), 96-52, Tuesday as forward Olivier Nkamhoua led the way.

Nkamhoua had 21 points to lead all scorers. He also finished the contest with eight rebounds.

Freshman point guard Kennedy Chandler recorded a double-double, totaling 15 points and 10 assists. Chandler also had five rebounds.

Super senior forward John Fulkerson scored 12 points and recorded six rebounds for the Vols, who play in-state rival Memphis in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena Saturday.

Tipoff is slated for noon EST and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

Nick Alves scored 15 points Tuesday to lead the Spartans.

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Vols remain perfect with victory over USC Upstate

Recapping the Vols’ victory over USC-Upstate Wednesday.

The Tennessee men’s basketball team will head into its holiday break with a perfect record.

Tennessee’s victory Wednesday night did not come all that easily for the Volunteers. It took the Vols time to pull away and capture an 80-60 win over winless USC Upstate at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Vols led 33-26 at halftime and were up 51-43 with 10 minutes remaining in the contest. UT went on a modest 29-17 run to claim victory.

Tennessee (6-0) had three players post double figures in the scoring column.

Victor Bailey Jr., a redshirt junior, led the way with 18 points. Josiah-Jordan James added 11 points and John Fulkerson finished with 10.

Bailey Jr., a transfer from Oregon, also had three rebounds and one assist.

James pulled down eight rebounds, dished out five assists and had a blocked shot for the Vols, who return to action on Dec. 30 when they travel to Missouri to open Southeastern Conference play.

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