Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG Baseball team handily defeated the Army Black Knights, 16-2 at the UNCG Baseball Stadium on Friday evening. UNCG used 21 hits and 13 RBI in the victory. The Spartans improve to 7-2 on the season, while Army falls to 2-6.
“We came out and swung the bat well right out of the gate.” Head Coach Link Jarrett said, “L.J. (Kalawaia) and (Collin) Woody along with a great start from Hunter (Smith), our captains led the way tonight. We got a little sloppy running the bases at times, but when you swing the bat like that, you can overcome some of those issues. Hunter (Smith) pitched great, it was good to see Keaton (Haack) get back out there and have a nice clean outing. I'm happy with the way we played, now we have to come back and get it tomorrow.”
At the plate, six Spartans picked up multiple hits in the contest. L.J. Kalawaia (Wailuku, Hawai'i/Ohlone College) and Collin Woody (Tampa, Fla./College of Central Florida) led the charge, racking up four hits, and three RBI each. Kalawaia also scored a pair of runs.
Ryne Sigmon (Danville, Va./Danville CC) and Dillon Stewart (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC) each earned three hits in the game, with Sigmon going a perfect 3-for-3 while drawing a pair of walks. Sigmon also scored twice, while Stewart drove in two runs and scored three times.
Tripp Shelton (Winston-Salem, N.C./West Forsyth) and Cesar Trejo (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale) each had a pair of hits in the contest. Shelton drove in a run while scoring three times, and Trejo hit his first career home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Ben Spitznagel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wabash Valley CC), Jake Kusz (Durham, N.C./Riverside) and Cody Fitch (Shelby, N.C./Shelby) all picked up one hit in the game. Fitch made a pinch-hit appearance off the bench to earn his first career hit and RBI.
Hunter Smith (Whiteville, N.C./Whiteville) earned a quality start on the mound, en route to his first UNCG victory. Smith went 7.0 innings, allowing only three hits, two unearned runs, walked two and struck out seven hitters. Keaton Haack came in out of the bullpen to finish the game up, tossing 2.0 shut out innings, striking out four hitters.
UNCG got on the board early, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kalawaia, Woody, Kusz, Sigmon, Stewart, and Trejo each had hits in the first inning and the Spartans were aided by three Army errors.
The Spartans hung another crooked number up in the bottom of the third, scoring five runs. Stewart, Kalawaia, and Woody all picked up RBI during the inning.
UNCG was held scoreless for the next three innings before Trejo got a hold of his first home run as a Spartan. The freshman belted a solo shot to left to give the Spartans a 12-2 lead. The Spartans tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the eighth, with Fitch, Shelton and Kalawaia tacking on the RBI.
The Spartans return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 5th as they host the Black Knights for game two of the three game series at 2:00 p.m.
-UNCG-
