GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG Baseball is set for a pair of midweek games with the North Carolina A&T Aggies and the Campbell Camels on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. UNCG will take on A&T at the UNCG Baseball Stadium at 6:00 p.m., before hitting the road and taking on Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C. at 6:00 p.m.
Tuesday's game will be broadcasted live on the SoCon Digital Network, with Wednesday's matchup being an audio-only broadcast at Campbell.
The Spartans enter with the best record in the Southern Conference, at 18-6. North Carolina A&T is currently 6-19 on the season, while Campbell is 14-11.
The Spartans and Aggies have met 48 times since 1991. UNCG holds a 41-7 advantage during that time. The Spartans have won eight of the last ten meetings. UNCG dropped the last meeting with the Aggies, a 9-8 ten-inning game held at NewBridge Bank Park, home of the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Mar. 22nd.
Campbell and UNCG have played nine games over the years, with the Spartans earning a 5-4 advantage in that time. In the first four years of UNCG baseball, the Spartans and Camels faced each other seven times, with UNCG going 5-2 in those games. Over the last seven years, UNCG and Campbell have only played twice, both resulting in UNCG losses. The Camels won the matchup in 2009, falling 17-3 in Buies Creek, N.C. The last meeting, the only under the watch of Link Jarrett, UNCG fell 10-7 at Campbell.
UNCG enters with one of the top offenses in all of NCAA Division I baseball. UNCG has a team batting average of .366, the best in the nation. The Spartan offense is also first in several other categories, including runs, hits, triples, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
L.J. Kalawaia (Wailuku, Hawai'i/Ohlone College) leads the Spartans with a .424 batting average. Kalawaia has hit for extra bases six times, including a pair of triples in the series with Georgetown. Kalawaia also leads the team with 12 stolen bases on the season. Andrew Moritz (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) has seen his average rise to .398 and is currently on a 20-game reached base streak, including an eight-game hitting streak. During the hitting streak, Moritz has had multiple hits in six games and currently leads the team with four triples on the season. Dillon Stewart (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC) leads the team with seven home runs, after connecting for three over the weekend. Collin Woody (Tampa, Fla./College of Central Florida) leads the team with 32 RBI this season, good for 12-most in the NCAA.
Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) will get the ball on Tuesday night. Wantz has made a team-leading 13 appearances this season, all out of the bullpen. Tuesday will be his first start this year. Wantz leads the UNCG pitching staff with 41 strikeouts, good for 58th most in the NCAA. Wantz ranks 45th in the nation with 11.30 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Keaton Haack (Greensboro, N.C./Pitt CC) is set to get the ball on Wednesday night. Haack has earned the starting nod on three different occasions this season. Haack has earned a 3.86 ERA in 11.2 innings pitched, and has earned 14 strikeouts this season. Chad Sykes (Creedmoor, N.C./Voyager Academy) has also earned 13 appearances out of the bullpen and has made two saves. Sykes has worked in 18.0 innings and has had six-straight scoreless outings while earning two wins.
North Carolina A&T enters the midweek game with a 6-19 overall record. Last week, the Aggies finished 2-2 with a win over UNCG at NewBridge Bank Park. A&T took a game against Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Aggie offense has hit for a .289 average in their 25 games. Ryan Jantsch leads the A&T offense with a .471 average in 13 games. The senior outfielder has connected for seven doubles and two home runs while driving in 15 runs. Jantsch also leads the Aggies with a .725 slugging percentage. Timothy Ravare and Milton Rivera are two regulars that have continued to produce for the Aggies. Ravare, a junior infielder, has amassed a .338 average with a triple and five doubles while scoring 10 runs. Rivera, a sophomore infielder, has a .340 average through his 25 starts. Rivera also leads the Aggies with six home runs on the season, to go with five doubles. Kyle Clary leads the Aggies with 23 RBI on the season. Adan Ordonez has driven in 22 runs this season to go with a .297 average with two home runs, seven doubles and 22 runs scored.
North Carolina A&T has a staff ERA of 8.67 through 215.0 innings of work. The Aggies have given up 207 earned runs so far this year, and have struck out 154. Teams are also batting .316 against the Aggies pitching staff. Danny Garrett is set to get the ball for A&T. The lefty has made 14 appearances this season, including logging 0.1 innings, surrendering two hits, and two earned runs. Matt Stanley has made the second-most appearances for the Aggies, appearing in 12 games. In his 16.2 innings pitched, Stanley has struck out 15 hitters while earning the Aggies lone save of the season.
Campbell is currently 14-11 on the season and have gone 10-6 in Buies Creek. The Camels started the season with its ups and downs, going 7-5 before dropping four-straight games. The first three were in the Campbell Invitational against Davidson, Rhode Island and Indiana State before rattling off six-straight wins. Charleston Southern defeated the Camels in Charleston before Campbell took the final game of the series.
Catcher Matt Parrish leads the Campbell offense. Parrish has played in 21 games this season, and has hit for a team-best .405 average. Parrish also leads the Camels with 26 runs batted in this season. Jimmy Monaghan has provided the pop in the Camel lineup, connecting for three home runs this season to go with a .338 average. Monaghan has driven in 17 RBI this season. Outfielder Ben Calvano leads the Camels with nine stolen bases on the year and has scored 18 runs tied for third on the team. Anthony Lopez has scored the most runs, 26. The senior infielder has hit for a .361 average and has connected for five doubles, three triples and a pair of home runs.
The Camels have used five different starting pitchers during their midweek competitions. Wes Noble has earned a 1-0 record in two starts and six total appearances. Noble has logged 20.0 innings, striking out 24 hitters over that time. Tyson Messer has also logged a pair of starts. Messer has appeared in nine games, working in 14.1 innings in that time. Messer has earned a 7.53 ERA while giving up 16 hits and 12 earned runs. Erik Dowse has made the most appearances for the Camels, earning two saves in the process. Dowse has logged 26.1 innings and has yet to allow an earned run.
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