GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team wraps up regular season play this week in a home and home series against Gardner-Webb. The Spartans and Runnin' Bulldogs will face off Thursday at the UNCG Baseball Stadium before meeting up in Boiling Springs Friday. Both games are set to begin at 6 p.m.
UNCG sits at 22-24 entering the two-game set while Gardner-Webb is 21-30. The Blue and Gold is coming off of a 13-11 extra-inning win in its SoCon finale at VMI. The Runnin' Bulldogs also won their last contest 6-0 over Longwood at home Sunday.
The Spartans unleashed a 22-hit attack against the Keydets Sunday and are now hitting a Southern Conference best .302 as a team – a mark that puts them 19th nationally. UNCG also ranks fourth in home runs per game, 12 in total home runs and ninth in slugging percentage. Senior Eric Kalbfleisch is hitting .363 to lead the team as he recorded a career-high five hits in Sunday's victory. A total of six Spartan lineup regulars are hitting .302 or better.
Ryan Hodge is hitting .305 to lead a Gardner-Webb side that is batting .240 as a team. Opposing batters own a .275 average against the Runnin' Bulldog pitching staff whose earned run average checks in at 3.91. Matt Fraudin boasts a team-high 104 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched.
Since UNCG began baseball in 1991, the Spartans have never faced Gardner-Webb on the diamond.
Bits and Pieces: UNCG won 12 SoCon games this season, the most since the 2011 squad captured 22 on the way to a second place finish ... Ryan Clark's complete game shutout against The Citadel was the first for the Blue and Gold since 2013 ... The Spartans have hit a home run in 24 of their last 27 games ... The Blue and Gold is 17-7 when compiling double figures in the hit column and 8-0 when scoring 10 or more runs ... The Spartans have surpassed their home run total from last season (25), hitting 55 so far this campaign - the highest single-season total since 2008 (66 HR) ... 11 different players have a home run to their credit this season with Wright leading the way with 12 bombs ... The Spartan pitching staff has struck out 10 or more batters in 14 games ... Former UNCG pitching standout Max Povse made the Opening Night start for the Rome Braves April 9 allowing just one earned run on four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Up Next: UNCG seeks its first-ever Southern Conference Baseball Championship title and first NCAA regional appearance since 1997 when the Spartans begin first round play Wednesday, May 20 at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.
Keep up with the UNCG baseball team all year long by logging on to www.uncgspartans.com and following the Spartans' official Twitter accounts @UNCGBaseball/@uncgsports.
