Spartans host Charlotte for first doubleheader of season

Aisha Figueroa

Game 2
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Charlotte 49ers (9-10)	0	0	0	0	5	2	0	7	5	0
UNCG (9-11)	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
@ Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Softball Field

Pitching
Win: Katie Watkins (1-4) - Charlotte 49ers
Loss: Josie Felix (3-3) - UNCG
Save: Katy Hackett (1) - Charlotte 49ers

Charlotte 49ers Batting
2B: Lorena Vela
3B: none
HR: none

UNCG Batting
2B: Jordan Jewett
3B: none
HR: Heather Robb

full stats

Game 1
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Charlotte 49ers (8-10)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	4	0
UNCG (9-10)	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	3	4	3
@ Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Softball Field

Pitching
Win: Cory Mattson (4-7) - UNCG
Loss: Katy Hackett (7-5) - Charlotte 49ers

Charlotte 49ers Batting
2B: Kalie Lang
3B: none
HR: Briana Gwaltney

UNCG Batting
2B: Toni MacReynolds; Kristen Gabel
3B: none
HR: none

full stats

UNCG (8-10) vs. Charlotte (8-9), March 9, 12 p.m., UNCG Softball Stadium

LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com

Storylines

• After taking part in four early season tournaments, UNCG will open doubleheader play when it hosts Charlotte on Wednesday at the UNCG Softball Stadium. The games have been moved to a noon start because of the forecast for rain in the area later in the day.

• The Spartans will be facing the 49ers for the second and third times this season after participating in Charlotte's First Pitch Classic on Feb. 18-20. UNCG fell to Charlotte to open the tournament but won its next four games to capture the tournament championship.

• The 49ers took a 3-0 win in this season's first meeting, on Feb. 18. The 49ers' Katy Hackett struck out 15 and held UNCG to just four hits in picking up the win. Freshman Aisha Figueroa had two of the Spartans' hits on the afternoon, rapping out singles in the first and third innings. Charlotte scored single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings. Jalisa Rock had an RBI single in the third, Tenaya Tucker hit a solo homer in the fifth and Chelsea Ingersoll scored on a UNCG error in the sixth.

• The Spartans went 1-2 in the rain-shortened Buzz Classic in Woodstock, Ga., over the weekend. Freshman catcher Toni MacReynolds picked up the first hits of her career over the weekend, hitting .714 in her two games.  MacReynolds went 2-for-3 against Evansville on Friday then followed that up with a 3-for-4 effort against UAB on Sunday. Jordan Jewett hit .571 at the tournament, while Alex Emeterio hit .455 and Kristen Gabel hit .400.

• For the season, Kaitlin Merkt is leading the team with a .400 average, three home runs and 16 RBI. Emeterio is second with a .352 average, while Jewett is just a point off her pace at .351. Figueroa is hitting .339 and is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts.

• In the circle, freshman Josie Felix is 3-2 with a 4.1 ERA, while Cory Mattson is 3-7 with a 5.36 mark. Sophomore Raeanne Hanks is 2-1 with a 5.56 ERA.

• Charlotte leads the all-time series with UNCG, 35-26. The teams first met in 1987 and have met every season since then with the exception of 1997. The 49ers have won five straight in the series.

• The 49ers dropped a doubleheader to North Carolina last time out, losing 4-0 and 6-2 in Chapel Hill, N.C., on March 2 in their first road games of the season. Charlotte went 3-2 in winning its own Green and White Tournament the weekend before that, topping Robert Morris in the title game, 5-0. Charlotte's schedule doubleheader against Furman on Sunday was rained out.

• Tucker leads the 49ers at the plate with a .423 average, five home runs and 18 RBI. Rock is also above .300 at .314, while Briana Gwaltney is hitting an even .300 with three homers and 15 RBI.

• Hackett is 7-4 with a 1.98 ERA to pace Charlotte in the circle. Kalie Lang is 1-1 with an 8.48 ERA, while Katie Watkins is 0-4 with a 13.24 mark.

• Charlotte is UNCG coach Jennifer Herzig's alma mater. Herzig was a catcher for the 49ers from 1998-2001 for Charlotte coach Aimee DeVos. After spending two seasons on staff at East Tennessee State to begin her coaching career, Herzig returned to Charlotte as an assistant for two seasons before assuming her post at UNCG in 2005.

- UNCG -