Spartans to take on Liberty in nonconference doubleheader

Game 1
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
UNCG (15-22)	0	0	0	1	0	4	1	6	7	1
Liberty (10-20)	0	0	2	0	3	0	0	5	4	1
@ Lynchburg, Va. | Liberty Softball Fld

Pitching
Win: Erica Navarette (4-8) - UNCG
Loss: Alyssa DiMartino (6-14) - Liberty

UNCG Batting
2B: Aubrey Baldwin
3B: none
HR: Katelyn Bedwell

Liberty Batting
2B: Jenny Law
3B: none
HR: Jenny Law

full stats

Game 2
Final	1	2	3	4	5	R	H	E
UNCG (16-22)	4	0	5	0	0	9	10	1
Liberty (10-21)	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	1
@ Lynchburg, Va. | Liberty Softball Fld

Pitching
Win: Erica Navarette (5-8) - UNCG
Loss: Grace Nordan (0-2) - Liberty

UNCG Batting
2B: Aisha Figueroa; Heather Robb
3B: none
HR: Eileen Horsmon; Heather Robb

Liberty Batting
2B: Kaylee West
3B: none
HR: none

full stats

UNCG (14-22) at Liberty (10-19), April 4, DH, 2 p.m., Lynchburg, Va.

Live stats: Gametracker

Storylines

• UNCG heads to Lynchburg, Va., Wednesday to take on a familiar nonconference opponent in former Big South Conference foe Liberty. First pitch for the doubleheader is slated for 2 p.m. at Liberty Softball Field.

• UNCG and Liberty have met 38 times, including 11 times as Big South opponents from 1994-97. The Spartans were 10-1 against the Lady Flames during that stretch and lead the series 27-11 overall. The teams have met in each of the last seven seasons, with UNCG going 10-5 against Liberty in that span. The Spartans swept a doubleheader from Liberty in Greensboro on April 6 of last season, taking game one 9-1 in five innings and game two 7-6.

• The Spartans took two of three from Samford over the weekend to even their Southern Conference record at 6-6. UNCG won Saturday's first game 5-3 before dropping game two of the doubleheader 2-1, with Toni MacReynolds and Dominique Madruga hitting their first career home runs on the day. UNCG won Sunday's rubber game 13-8, highlighted by Eileen Horsmon's grand slam and six RBI, one shy of the school record.

• Senior Alex Emeterio leads the Spartans with a .326 average and a .404 on-base percentage and has struck out just five times in 109 plate appearances. Sophomore Katelyn Bedwell is hitting .321 and is tied for fourth in the SoCon with Horsmon with eight home runs. She has a career-high 31 RBI. Horsmon is hitting .308 with a career-high 35 RBI, tied for second-most in the league. Horsmon, who also leads UNCG with six doubles and two triples, has a team-best .626 slugging percentage. Sophomore Aisha Figueroa leads the team with nine stolen bases in 10 tries.

• UNCG has hit 25 home runs in just 36 games this season, surpassing last season's total and good for eighth-most in school history with at least 20 games left on the schedule. Bedwell and Horsmon have combined for 16 of them, while Heather Robb has four, Emeterio has two and Tatiana Alcala, Madruga and MacReynolds have one each. The Spartans' home run totals have soared under coach Jennifer Herzig, as seven of the top 10 home run totals in school history have come during Herzig's tenure (2006-present).

• Senior Cory Mattson leads UNCG with a 3.50 ERA and is 10-11 on the season for her third straight season with at least 10 wins. Freshman Erica Navarette owns a 4.53 ERA and is 3-8 with three saves and sophomore Josie Felix is 1-3 with an 8.65 ERA.

• Emeterio is in the top 10 in school history in career batting average, hits, doubles, triples, runs, RBI, slugging percentage and walks. With 210 hits to her credit, the school record of 227, shared by Karyn Thompson (1993-96) and Jennifer Bonilla (2004-07), is well within Emeterio's reach if she maintains her current pace. Emeterio could also challenge the school record of 11 triples held by Susan Carter (1986-88), as she has eight to her credit.

• Bedwell currently has a career .323 average, good for seventh in school history, and her .525 slugging percentage puts her fourth. Bedwell's first career homer came against Liberty last season.

• Mattson is seventh in school history with 357 career strikeouts, leaving her 11 back of sixth-place Erin Chandler, who had 368 from 1993-96.

• Liberty is in the midst of a 10-game homestand, its longest in a decade.

• The Lady Flames picked up a walk-off 4-3 win over Winthrop on Saturday to avoid a three-game sweep. Jenny Law capped her 3-for-4 day with a two-run single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh after Winthrop scored twice in the top half of the frame.

• Liberty has four everyday players hitting over .300 on the season. Kelby Allen leads the way at .347, while Katie Zavodny is hitting .328, Law is at .321 and Meredith Crisante is hitting .306. Bridgett Woods has a team-best four homers, while Crisante leads the team with 16 RBI.

• In the circle, Alyssa DiMartino is 6-13 with a 4.00 ERA, while Chandler Ball is 4-5 with a 5.25 mark.

- UNCG -