GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team takes its longest road trip of the season this weekend, traveling south to Birmingham, Ala. for a three-game Southern Conference series at Samford. The Spartans and Bulldogs will begin the set with a doubleheader Friday beginning at 4 p.m. before wrapping things up with a single game Saturday at 3 p.m.
UNCG and Samford, along with Western Carolina, enter the weekend tied for second place in the SoCon standings with 4-2 league marks. The trio trails leader Mercer (5-1) by one game. The Spartans are 12-13 overall while the Bulldogs sit at 12-15.
The Blue and Gold enters the weekend having won seven of its last 10 contests including picking up a series win at ETSU last weekend. UNCG won the first two games 8-6 and 7-5 before falling late in the finale by a 5-3 margin. Samford won its series last weekend at VMI while also sporting a series victory over Furman.
Senior outfielder Zac MacAneney paces the Spartans with a .364 batting average and is one of five UNCG players hitting .311 or better. Collectively, the team is batting .282 and is third in the league with 26 home runs. The Blue and Gold is also third among league programs in slugging percentage (.459).
Austin Edens leads the Bulldog offensive efforts with a .375 batting average while Hunter Swilling is second at .333. As a team, Samford is sixth in the league with a .278 batting average while sitting second in home runs (28).
In the all-time series, the Bulldogs own a 12-6 advantage as the teams have split the last six meetings. UNCG won two of three at Samford in 2013 while the Bulldogs captured a series win last season in Greensboro.
Last Meeting: The UNCG baseball team fell to Samford 14-7 inside the UNCG Baseball Stadium Sunday in its home finale. Senior RHP Dylan Thompson suffered the loss, surrendering seven runs (all earned) on eight hits with three walks and no strikeouts. Parker Curry earned the victory in relief, tossing five innings and allowing just one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Junior Eric Kalbfleisch paced the UNCG offense with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate while also tallying three RBIs and two runs scored. Leadoff hitter and redshirt junior Zac MacAneney also racked up three hits and scored two runs. Drew McWhorter and Heath Quinn led the 20-hit Samford attack with four base knocks apiece. Additionally, junior Hunter King reached base safely for the 25th consecutive contest, notching two hits.
Bits and Pieces: During the first weekend of league play, UNCG handed Western Carolina just its third series loss in Southern Conference action in three seasons ... The Blue and Gold is 9-3 when compiling double figures in the hit column and 6-0 when scoring 10 or more runs ... The Spartans have surpassed their home run total from last season (25), hitting 26 so far this campaign ... 10 different players have a home run to their credit this season with King leading the way with five bombs ... In nine home games this season, the Spartans are 7-2 and are hitting .332 with a slugging mark of .586 and 14 home runs. ... The Spartan pitching staff has struck out 10 or more batters in seven games.
Up Next: UNCG returns home Tuesday, April 7, for a nonconference contest against Wake Forest. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Keep up with the UNCG baseball team all season by logging on to www.uncgspartans.com and following the Spartans' official Twitter accounts @UNCGBaseball/@uncgsports.
