SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After surrendering a seventh-straight loss in Saturday's afternoon game, Penn (2-9, 0-0 Ivy) managed to split the doubleheader with USC Upstate (8-7-1, 0-0 ASUN) behind a brazen offensive attack and late bullpen effort, topping the Spartans by a 7-5 mark. Despite four lead changes upending both squads' stability throughout the matchup, the Quakers put together a late surge to seal the victory, batting in two runs during the sixth and another in the ninth.

Game One - USC Upstate 7, Penn 2
WP: Trey Van Der Weide (1-2)
LP: Robby Cerulle (0-1)
SV: None

Game Two - Penn 6, USC Upstate 5
WP: Chris Rabasco (1-0)
LP: Caleb Matthews (0-1)
SV: Gabe Kleiman (1)

HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE
Seeking to redeem for last night's close loss, the Penn offense surged to a quick lead off the bat of junior Matt O'Neill, whose sacrifice infield hit scored freshman Eduardo Malinowski in the opening inning. The Quakers maintained their 1-0 advantage until the fifth when Malinowski put together an RBI of his own, driving in junior Matt Tola with a single into shallow right-center field.

Despite the two-run edge late in the game, the Penn bullpen struggled to close out victory, surrendering one score in the seventh and another six a frame later. The USC Upstate offense jerked to life in the bottom of the eighth, first loading the bases before earning a one-run lead off two consecutive hit-by-pitch advancements. Russel Schwertfeger proceeded to seal the victory for the Spartans with a diamond-clearing triple before finding the plate himself on a wild pitch into the backstop.

Similar to Friday's loss, a majority of the Spartans' scoring opportunities only came in the latter half of the game once Quakers' relief took over. Oppositely, Penn starter Mitchell Holcomb showcased his ace right-arm during his six innings on the mound, allowing just two hits with no runs along with eight strikeouts. As for USC Upstate, Kevin Hickey managed the initial seven frames before Trey Van Der Weide wrapped up the win with two innings of work.

GAME TWO
The Penn offense continued to showcase its early-scoring ability as they, once again, knocked in a run in the game's opening inning, this time off the bat of junior Matt McGeagh. After the Spartans captured a one-run advantage of their own in the bottom of the frame, Malinowski battled back with a two-score RBI in the second, driving in both senior Andrew Murnane and Tola. The Quakers extended their lead in the third inning behind sophomore Tommy Pellis' single to center, scoring freshman Brendan Bean in the process.

The fifth and sixth frames proved the most tumultuous of the series, as USC Upstate retook a one-run edge in the former before a pair of two-out doubles from Penn pushed the Quakers back out front. The back-to-back duo of junior Sean Phelan and McGeagh has been dangerous all season, and tonight's sixth inning continued to reinforce that fact. First, Phelan ripped a pitch down the right field line - scoring sophomore Chris Adams - before McGeagh placed a ball in the left-center gap, helping his teammate across the plate. The insurance run the ninth came off Bean, as he singled into shallow left field to knock in Phelan.

In a reverse of the norm thus far this season, the Quakers' starter - senior Jack Hartman - struggled early and the bullpen came in for a clutch save, powered primarily by junior Chris Rabasco and senior Gabe Kleiman. A pair of sophomores - Jacob Sadowitz and Dylan Mulvihill - also put together strong performances, surrendering no hits with four combined strikeouts in an inning of work apiece. Meanwhile, the Penn batting order chipped its way through the Spartan bullpen, forcing four relievers to participate in the loss.

NEXT UP
The Quakers open their home slate next Saturday with a doubleheader against Fairleigh Dickinson before making a quick turnaround Sunday in road twin bill versus the same opponent.