Fans can follow this weekend's action on a variety of platforms.  Friday's game will feature a video on the SoCon Digital Network, with Saturday and Sunday's games being audio-only broadcasts on the SoCon Digital Network.  Fans can follow along with live stats available at UNCGSpartans.com.  There will also be updates available on Twitter, by following @UNCGScores for up to the minute score updates.  Fans can follow @UNCGBaseball for updates on all baseball happenings throughout the year. 

The Spartans are riding a four-game winning streak for the fourth time this season heading into Friday's contest.  UNCG's longest winning streak lasted eight games, from Mar. 24th-Apr. 3rd, and including two series sweeps.  UNCG defeated Campbell 10-2 at the UNCG Baseball Stadium in the midweek contest, for Link Jarrett's 100th career win.  The Spartans improved to 23-1 at home this season. 

Samford and UNCG have played 21 times, with the Bulldogs holding a 14-7 advantage in those games.  Last season the two teams met in Birmingham, Ala. with Samford taking two of three games.  The last time the Spartans took the series from the Bulldogs was in 2013.  In that series, UNCG dropped the first game of the series 15-9, before rallying back to take games tow and three, 8-3, and 7-6, respectively.  Samford joined the Southern Conference in 2008, and the two teams have never met in postseason play. 

The Spartan offense is statistically one of the best in the NCAA.  UNCG leads all of Division I in several categories, including average, scoring, runs, hits, doubles per game, doubles, triples, slugging percentage, sacrifice flies and on-base percentage.  The Spartans lead the SoCon in batting average by 53 points, and lead the NCAA by 34.  With 77 stolen bases on the year, UNCG is tied with Wofford for the league-lead in that category, while attempting six less. 

UNCG has seven players in the top 15 of batting average in the SoCon this year.  Ben Spitznagel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wabash Valley CC) leads the conference with 75 hits, and a .421 average.  The junior utility player leads all of the NCAA with the 75 hits.  Spitznagel has scored 51 runs this season, top 10 in the nation, but only second on the UNCG squad.  L.J. Kalawaia (Wailuku, Hawai'i/Ohlone College) leads the Spartans with 52 runs scored, fourth in the NCAA.  Kalawaia has hit for a .395 average with 16 extra-base hits, including five home runs.  With 52 RBI this year, Kalawaia has earned a .502 on-base percentage to go with a team-high 19 stolen bases. 

Collin Woody (Tampa, Fla./College of Central Florida) is tied for third in the NCAA with 57 RBI this year.  Woody is tied with two other SoCon players in that category, Preseason SoCon Player of the Year Kyle Lewis of Mercer, and Samford's Preseason SoCon First-Team outfielder Heath Quinn.  Woody has played every game at third base, and hit in the fourth spot of the lineup.  Woody has hit three home runs in his last four games trails Dillon Stewart's (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC) team-lead of nine by one.  He leads UNCG with 18 doubles on the year.

The Spartan offense has nine players hitting over the .300-plateau who have played in at least 22 games.  Six players have driven in at least 30 runs on the year, with four players being in the top 26 of run producers. 

Hunter Smith (Whiteville, N.C./Whiteville), Keaton Haack (Greensboro, N.C./Pitt CC) and Matt Frisbee (Candler, N.C./Enka) are projected to start over the three-game series.  Smith continues to perform on Friday nights this season.  The redshirt junior has made 10 starts this season, all being as the first pitcher opposing teams face to start the weekend.  Smith has earned a 5-1 record in his 61.0 innings and has struck out 45 batters.  In his last outing against ETSU, Smith worked 5.2 innings, striking out one batter, helping UNCG earn a 6-5 victory. 

Haack has recently worked his way into the UNCG weekend rotation.  The senior served as the primary midweek pitcher until last week when he earned the Saturday start against ETSU.  Haack has worked in eight games, with six starts on the season.  In his 29.2 innings pitched, he has allowed only nine earned runs while giving up 23 hits.  In Haack's last outing against ETSU, he went a career-best 7.0 innings, allowing six hits, four runs; only one earned as UNCG defeated the Buccaneers 13-6.  Frisbee has emerged as a tremendous Sunday starter for UNCG this year.  The freshman has worked in 10 games this season, all being in the series finale.  Frisbee has worked 46.0 innings, and has struck out 38 batters.  In his last two outings, he has gone a combined 12.0 innings, allowing only four runs, and struck out eight.  Frisbee also earned a seven-inning complete game victory as UNCG defeated Furman 14-0 in the final game of the series. 

Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs), Chad Sykes (Creedmoor, N.C./Voyager Academy), Ben Kerner (Cary, N.C./Brunswick CC) and Woody have helped hold down the back end of games on the mound. Wantz has made the most appearances this season, logging the second-most innings pitched at 56.1.  Wantz leads UNCG with 70 strikeouts on the year, while posting a 2.24 ERA.  Wantz is 6-0 this season, with one save.

Sykes, SoCon Pitcher of the Month for March, has earned a 3-2 record with four saves through his 20 appearances.  In two appearances last weekend, Sykes earned the save on Friday night, in a 6-5 game, before earning the win in a 9-7 game in the series finale with ETSU.  Sykes struck out four hitters in his 2.2 innings, allowing only one run. 

Kerner has made 18 appearances this season, working in 23.0 innings, with a 3-0 record.  Woody has made 14 appearances on the hill.  During that time he has earned a save, and a 2-2 record in 19.1 innings.  In his last appearance against Campbell, Woody struck out the side in the ninth inning.  Jake Lewis (Wendell, N.C./Corinth Holders) has worked 35.0 innings.  The freshman lefty has appeared in 15 games, with six starts to go with 35 strikeouts on the year. 

The Bulldogs enter this weekend's games with a 24-18 overall record, and are 6-6 in the Southern Conference.  Samford enters the weekend having played six-straight nonconference games.  Samford last SoCon opponent was  Western Carolina.  The Bulldogs dropped two of three games in Cullowhee, N.C. before going 4-2 over the last week and a half.  Samford earned a split with Alabama A&M, took two of three from Kansas last weekend, and earned a walk off win over SEC opponent Alabama at home during the midweek.

The Bulldog offense is powered by a pair of sluggers.  Heath Quinn and Austin Edens are first and sixth in the NCAA in home runs, respectively.  Quinn, a Preseason SoCon First-Team member, has slugged an NCAA-best 17, with Edens adding another 14.  Both have hit for average as well, hitting .341 each.  Quinn has added 10 doubles on the year, and one triple while leading the team with 57 RBI.  Edens has had eight doubles this year, and driven in 43.  Alex Lee leads the team with a .346 average, having hit seven home runs, and nine doubles.  Samford has five players hitting over the .300 mark this year, with nine hitting over .250. 

Stephen Jones is the only pitcher scheduled to pitch this weekend.  Jones started the year as a midweek pitcher, but has moved to the starting role over the last few weekends.  Jones has yet to suffer a loss, appearing in 12 games on the year, earning a 3-0 record.  Other starters who have seen time recently have been Parker Curry, and Connor Radcliffe.  Curry owns a 2.35 ERA and a 4-1 record in 13 appearances this year, with four starts.  Radcliffe has a 7.20 ERA in nine starts, with a 2-3 record. Jared Brasher got the nod on opening night, and has started 10 games this year.  Brasher owns a 5.72 ERA, with a 2-4 record.  Samford has used closer by committee this year, with three players earning multiple saves.  If Curry doesn't start, its likely to see him out of the bullpen.  Curry has earned two saves to go with his record.  Wyatt Burns is tied with Josh Rich for the team-lead with three saves each. Burns and Rich have worked solely out of the bullpen, combining for 46 appearances on the year.  Burns owns a 1-1 record with a 2.73 ERA.  Rich is 1-3, with a 3.97 ERA. 

-UNCG-