UNCG (13-10, 3-6 SoCon) vs. North Carolina A&T (7-16, 2-4 MEAC)
NewBridge Bank Park • Greensboro, N.C.
March 28, 2012 • Game 24 • 6 p.m.
LiveStats: UNCGSpartans.com
Storylines:
• After dropping two-of-three at Western Carolina in conference play over the weekend, UNCG will have its annual showdown at NewBridge Bank Park with crosstown rival North Carolina A&T at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
• Over the weekend, UNCG hit the road for the second weekend in a row for a Southern Conference series with Western Carolina. Due to rain in the area, the teams didn't play on Friday and played a doubleheader on Saturday. In game one, Western Carolina took control of the game in a three-run second inning and never looked back. UNCG would strike for a run in the top of the fourth, but the Catamounts proved too much as Dykota Spiess sparked the offense going 3-for-3 with five RBI off the bench for Western Carolina and led it to a 16-2 victory in game one. Spiess proved detrimental to the Spartans once again after hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning as Western Carolina took the back-end of the doubleheader, 6-5. On Sunday, Max Povse tossed six innings of one-run ball while national home run co-leader Trevor Edwards hit his 10th and 11th home runs on the season as UNCG avoided the sweep with a 5-1 victory.
• Garner, N.C., native Kris Richards is having a memorable senior year as he leads the team in batting average (.360) and is second in hits (27) and slugging percentage (.587). He is tied for third on the team with four long balls and has only struck out 10 times in 75 official at-bats and has nine multi-hit games on the year.
• Freshman Brennan James has been a valuable addition to the Spartans as he leads the team with two saves and has allowed only five earned runs in 19 innings of work. James has appeared in 12 games with a 2.37 ERA while opponents have been able to muster just a .172 batting average against him.
• Last year, the Spartans and Aggies had two games affected by inclement weather. The first game between the squads, scheduled for March 23 at the UNCG Baseball Stadium, was rained out with UNCG trailing 9-4 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning and was never made up. The second game, scheduled for NewBridge Bank Park on March 30, never got started and was rained out, as well. The two teams last met in an official game on March 31, 2010, at NewBridge and UNCG easily captured the victory, 12-5. UNCG has dominated the series, 35-6, but the Aggies have taken three of the last five contests.
• On Tuesday, the Aggies traveled to Boone, N.C. to face Appalachian State and fell 14-0 thanks to an eight-run first inning from the Mountaineers.
• The Aggies' Marquis Riley leads the team with a .356 batting average coming into this week. He has amassed team highs in hits (31), runs scored (20), total bases (40), RBI (20) and on-base percentage (.441). He is tied for the team lead in walks (13) while striking out only five times in 87 official at-bats.
• Like last year, the Spartans are thriving on "small ball" and currently lead the nation with 42 sacrifice bunts on the season. Delaware State is second with 40. Cambric Moye leads the team with nine.
• Through the first 23 games of the season, the Spartans have already hit 28 home runs, which surpasses last year's total of 23. Edwards leads the way with 11 home runs. UNCG has sent a ball over the fence in 14 of its 23 contests.
• UNCG started this season 7-0, marking the first time since 2003 that the Spartans had begun the season with seven wins. That year, the team began the year 12-0, which is the best start in school history.
• Admission to the game will be free for UNCG students with a valid UNCG ID. It will be $5 for adults, $3 for children and free for kids four years old or younger.
- UNCG -
