GREENSBORO, N.C. – Wofford scored in all but three innings Friday evening and took advantage of five UNCG errors to post an 8-5 victory in a Southern Conference series opener at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.

The contest was played under damp and unseasonably chilly temperatures as a nearly 40-minute rain delay occurred in the bottom of the third inning.  

The Spartans (20-21, 10-9) out-hit the Terriers (31-15, 9-6) by an 8-7 margin but only three of Wofford's eight runs were earned due to UNCG's defensive miscues. The teams also combined to leave 20 runners on base (10 apiece).

Junior RHP Ryan Clark dropped to 6-5 after surrendering four runs (three earned) on six hits with three walks. He did, however, set a career high in the game by striking out 11 Terriers. Matt Milburn continued a spectacular season improving to 9-1 overall. He allowed just two runs on five hits while walking two and fanning four.

Junior infielder Collin Woody and freshman infielder Tripp Shelton recorded two hits apiece to lead the Blue and Gold's offensive efforts while Carson Waln and Max McDougald notched two hits each for Wofford. Senior infielder Aaron Wright drove in a pair of runs and extended his hitting streak to eight games. Also keeping hitting streaks alive were a pair of senior outfielders in Tyler Long (13 games) and Eric Kalbfleisch (eight games).

Alec Paradowski drew a leadoff walk to begin the game before James Plaisted reached on an error to put two runners on with one out on the board. Conor Clancey then singled to left field and plated Waln to give the Terriers the early 1-0 advantage. Clark would recover with two strikeouts to limit the damage to just the single run.

Woody roped a double to right center to begin the bottom of the second and scored later on a RBI single by Long. The Spartans then took the lead in the bottom of the third as freshman infielder Austin Embler worked a leadoff walk and moved to third on a Milburn throwing error before scoring on a Hunter King RBI single through the left side. UNCG looked to do further damage but with the bases loaded and one out, Kalbfleisch suffered a bit of bad luck as his liner was caught in by a leaping Derek Hirsch at short who threw back to second to complete the inning-ending double play.

Wofford tied things up in the top of the fourth. With two outs and no runners on base, Demetrius Jennings singled up the middle and came all the way around to score on a fielding error at second base. The Terriers then took the lead for good in the top of the sixth with another two out run.

The visitors plated five runs over the final three innings but the Blue and Gold attempted to rally in the bottom of the ninth trailing by six. After pinch hitter Nick Chapman struck out to begin the frame, sophomore Ryne Sigmon and senior outfielder Zac MacAneney drew consecutive walks. King was then nailed in the head by a pitch but was able to make it down to first to load the bases. Wright then roped a 2-1 pitch to right center scoring two runs before a two-out ground rule double by Kalbfleisch brought home a third run to pull UNCG within 8-5. Sophomore catcher Jake Kusz then walked up to the dish representing the tying run but he struck out swinging to end the game.

The Spartans look to even the series Saturday at 2 p.m. UNCG will celebrate the accomplishments and careers of 11 seniors before the contest in an on-field ceremony.

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.