GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG closes out its Southern Conference schedule this weekend with a three-game series at VMI. The teams will open the set Friday at 6 p.m.
The VMI athletics department will provide live stats for a three contests and each game will be streamed in full HD on the SoCon Digital Network.
The Spartans are 11-10 entering the weekend and look to cement their place in the top half of the league standings while the Keydets are 8-10 but have two SoCon series remaining.
The teams have not met since the 2003 campaign when VMI was in its first go round as a member of the Southern Conference. The Keydets took two of three in Lexington to win the regular season series before the Blue and Gold won the matchup in the conference tournament. UNCG has won 18 of the 25 meetings between the programs.
The Spartans have two SoCon series wins on the road this year winning two of three at both ETSU and current league leader Mercer. Overall, the Blue and Gold is 7-10 in road games while VMI is 3-16 at home inside Gray-Minor Stadium.
Senior Tyler Long paces six UNCG players who are hitting .306 or above with his .343 batting average as the Spartans are ranked second in the league and 23rd nationally with a .301 hitting mark. Long has hit safely in a conference season-best 15 consecutive games while classmates Eric Kalbfleisch and Aaron Wright are riding 10-game hitting streaks. UNCG is also seventh in the nation in slugging percentage at a SoCon best .468. The Blue and Gold has racked up double figures in the hit column in 11 of its last 15 games and is hitting a stout .341 as a team with 95 runs scored and 19 home runs during the stretch. The Spartans' next long ball will give them 50 for the season – the most since the 2008 squad hit 66 home runs. UNCG's pitching staff has also stepped up in the last 15 games as opponents are hitting just .266 against the staff who ranks fifth in the SoCon with a 5.85 earned run average.
The Keydets are hitting .273 as a team and are led offensively by Jordan Tarsovich who is batting .335. VMI lurks right behind the Spartans in the home run column with 45 round trippers. Opponents are hitting .297 against a Keydet pitching staff that owns a 6.11 earned run average.
Bits and Pieces: Freshman RHP Chad Sykes earned his first collegiate victory against Wofford Sunday and parlayed his performance into Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week accolades. He tossed a career-high six innings and struck out eight while limiting the Terriers to just one run and four singles … UNCG has captured four SoCon series wins in seven tries this year, including road series victories at league newcomers ETSU and Mercer ... 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 21 of their last 24 games ... The Blue and Gold is 16-7 when compiling double figures in the hit column and 7-0 when scoring 10 or more runs ... The Spartans have surpassed their home run total from last season (25), hitting 49 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 and King leading the way with 10 bombs apiece ... The Spartan pitching staff has struck out 10 or more batters in 13 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.
Projected Pitching Matchups:
Friday – RHP Ryan Clark (6-5, 3.82) vs. LHP Austin Heenan (0-6, 7.10)
Saturday – RHP Andrew Wantz (5-2, 4.81) vs. RHP Andrew Woods (5-1, 5.36)
Sunday – RHP Chad Sykes (1-0, 7.33) vs. Brandon Barbery (5-2, 4.59)
Up Next: UNCG will end the regular season with a home and home against Gardner-Webb next week. The Runnin' Bulldogs will visit Greensboro Thursday before the Spartans head up to Boiling Springs Friday. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
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.
