GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG Baseball will hit the road for the second-straight weekend, as it will travel to Greenville, S.C. for a three-game series with the Furman Paladins. This is the first of two trips scheduled for Greenville, as Furman will serve as the host for the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament May 24-29.
The games will be broadcasted on the SoCon Digital Network, with live stats available at UNCGSpartans.com.
The Spartans split a pair of midweek games with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in their last time out, with both teams winning on their home fields. UNCG suffered a narrow, 6-4 loss at David F. Couch Ballpark, before dominating the Demon Deacons 18-3 at the UNCG Baseball Stadium to earn their first win over an ACC team this season.
After splitting with Wake Forest, UNCG statistically has one of the top offenses in the nation. The Spartans hold the NCAA's highest batting average at .356. Air Force and BYU have fought for the second-highest average all season, but BYU holds a .001 advantage over Air Force, at .336. The Spartans also lead the NCAA in hits, runs, sacrifice flies, slugging and on-base percentage. UNCG is second in the nation in scoring, doubles and triples. After opening the season with a 41-hit weekend, the Navy and Gold has yet to slow down, racking up at least 40 hits in every weekend series this year.
Andrew Moritz (Charlotte, N.C./Providence leads the Spartan offense with a .400 average. The freshman has started every game in centerfield, and leads UNCG with six triples. His 18 extra-base hits is second only to Dillon Stewart (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC) who leads the team with 21 extra-base knocks. Moritz hit his first career home run against Wake Forest on April 12th.
Collin Woody (Tampa, Fla./College of Central Florida) leads UNCG with 43 RBI this season. The Spartans have six players who have recorded at least 30 RBI this season, the most of any Southern Conference team. UNCG has four of the top 51 of RBI producers in the nation, with Woody, Stewart, Ryne Sigmon (Danville, Va./Danville CC) and L.J. Kalawaia (Wailuku, Hawai'i/Ohlone College) driving in 43, 38, 38, and 36 runs respectively. The four players in the top 51 are the most of any NCAA Division I institution. UNCG also has nine players who are hitting over the .300 plateau who have played in at least 22 games this year.
Hunter Smith (Whiteville, N.C./Whiteville), Bryce Hensley (Asheville, N.C./Catawba Valley CC) and Matt Frisbee (Candler, N.C./Enka) are scheduled to start on the mound for the ninth weekend in a row. UNCG has yet to use a different rotation this year, with all three having started eight games this year. Hensley has worked one relief appearance this year. Smith enters leading the team with 50.0 innings pitched this season. Smith has logged one complete game this year, and in his last outing against The Citadel, went 7.0 innings, allowing one unearned run and striking out eight hitters.
Hensley is set to go on Saturday. Hensley has worked in nine games, with eight starts. The lefty has logged a career-high five starts of at least 6.0 innings, including a career-high eight strikeouts. Hensley suffered his first loss in his last outing with The Citadel. Hensley worked in 4.0 innings, allowing six hits and seven runs.
Frisbee has turned a corner in his last three starts. The freshman went 6.0 innings allowing only five hits, one earned run in a 7-4 victory over The Citadel last week. Frisbee has had quality starts in two of his last three outings and has struck out seven hitters twice this season.
The Spartan pitching staff has earned a 4.33 Earned Run Average throughout the season, with eight pitchers earning multiple victories. Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) has worked in the most games, working in 18 this season. Wantz is second on the team with 47.0 innings and leads the team with 61 punch outs this year. The 61 strikeouts is good for 30th in the NCAA, 10 off of the current NCAA strikeout leader. Wantz also has an 11.68 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, good for 24th in the NCAA. Chad Sykes (Creedmoor, N.C./Voyager Academy) earned SoCon Pitcher of the Month for his performance during the month of March. On the year, Sykes has earned a 2.77 ERA to go with a 2-2 record in 16 appearances. Sykes has worked in 16 games, including 26.0 innings, while holding opponents to a .106 average against. Sykes hasn't given up an extra-base hit since Mar. 1st against NC State.
Woody also works as a two-way player, having appeared in 12 games this season. The right-hander has thrown in 17.0 innings, while earning a 3.18 ERA. Woody has struck out 16 hitters, while allowing six earned runs this season.
The Spartans and Paladins have competed 65 times in baseball. The Paladins hold a 35-30 advantage in that time. UNCG and Furman have split the last two weekend series, both being played in Greensboro. The last time the two teams met in Greenville, S.C. was in 2013, Link Jarrett's first year at the helm. The last sweep for either team came by Furman in the 2010 season, ending UNCG's year on a three-game losing streak.
Furman enters the weekend series sporting a 14-18 record and are currently 3-3 in the Southern Conference. Furman split two earlier three-game SoCon series, taking two games from preseason favorite Samford, before falling in two of three games to East Tennessee State in Johnson City, Tenn. At home this season, Furman has picked up 10 of their 14 wins, including the two SoCon wins over Samford.
Furman's offense is led by Carter Grote. Gorte is third on the squad with a .331 average, while playing in a team-high 32 games this year. The junior outfielder has driven in 20 runs this year, while hitting four home runs, a triple and five doubles. Grote leads the Paladins with 28 runs scored this season. Two other players have hit for a higher average than Grote, Jabari Richards and Jordan Simpson have hit for a .395, and a .351 average, respectively. Neither Richards, nor Simpson have had their names in the box scores for last several games. Among those players who have seen regular playing time, Brandon Elmy has driven in 21 runs this year, while leading Furman with seven doubles. Elmy has also scored 23 runs, while hitting for a .328 average. The sophomore infielder has hit just one home run on the year, while striking out 24 times. Furman isn't much for swiping bases, having only stolen 13 bases this season.
On the mound, the Paladins are scheduled to use the same rotation as last weekend. Preseason SoCon second team selectin Will Gaddis will throw on Friday night, with Harry Noman and Matthew Quarles going on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Gaddis holds a 3.52 ERA, with a 5-2 record, having worked in a team-high 53.2 innings. Norman has also been productive on the hill, moving into a starters role later in the season. Norman has started just four games this season, but has appeared in 14 total. Norman has earned a 3.55 ERA in 38.0 innings and has gone 1-2. Quarles is set to go on Sunday. Quarles, who has started in all eight of his appearancs this season, has worked in 44.2 innings, while earning a 5.84 ERA and a 3-3 record. Nolan Mullen is key contributor to the Paladin pitching staff, having worked in 17 games this year. Mullen has served as the closer, recording five saves in 19.1 innings, with 19 strikeouts. Furman relies heaviliy on its starting rotation, with only four other players having worked in 10 or more innings. One of these players being Jake Crawford who was bumped from the starting rotation after making six starts. Ted Andrews has made seven appearancs, working in 11.1 innings, earning a 4.76 ERA. Heath Hawkins has worked 11.0 innings, giving up 13 earned runs in that time. The last reliever to work in at least 10 innings, is Ryan Griffith who has allowed 15 runs in 10.1 innings.
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