GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG Baseball team is set for its first road Southern Conference series of the season this weekend. The Spartans will travel to Charleston, S.C. for a three-game series with The Citadel Bulldogs. The series will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with game times beginning at 4:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m., respectively.
All games will be broadcasted on the SoCon Digital Network. Live Stats will be available on UNCGSpartans.com, as well as CitadelSports.com.
The Spartans enter the series with the Bulldogs having dropped their last game with the Duke Blue Devils. UNCG took a lead in the top of the fifth scoring four runs, but the Blue Devils scored seven unanswered to take the game 7-4. UNCG fell to 3-5 on the road with the loss at Jack Coombs Field. The loss snapped an eight-game win streak for the Spartans, the longest such streak since 2011.
UNCG is set to use the same starting rotation as its used all season. Hunter Smith (Whiteville, N.C./Whiteville) will start Friday, Bryce Hensley (Asheville, N.C./Catawba Valley CC) will go Saturday, with Matt Frisbee (Candler, N.C./Enka) finishing the series up on Sunday. Smith will get the ball to start a series for the eighth time this season. Smith has been the Friday night starter all season, going 4-0 and UNCG has yet to drop a game on a Friday this year. In his last outing, Smith went 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out five hitters Hensley has worked in the Saturday role all season for the Spartans. He has earned a 4-0 record, with a 4.58 ERA. Hensley has earned a quality start in five of his seven starts, including earning wins in his first three appearances. Frisbee will start his eighth game of his freshman campaign Sunday. Frisbee earned a career-long start against Georgetown two weeks ago, going 6.0 innings, striking out two. Twice Frisbee has struck out seven hitters and earned his first collegiate win against Marist on Mar. 20th.
Chad Sykes (Creedmoor, N.C./Voyager Academy), Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs), Collin Woody (Tampa, Fla./College of Central Florida), Jake Lewis (Wendell, N.C./Corinth Holders) and the rest of the UNCG bullpen have also been tough this year. Sykes earned SoCon Pitcher of the Month for his efforts during the month of March. The sophomore right hander has struck out at least one batter in ten-straight outings, along with multiple strike outs in four-straight appearances. Wantz earned multiple honors for his performance during the week of Mar. 28-Apr. 3. Wantz earned SoCon Pitcher of the Week, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pitcher of the Week, and was one of seven players named to Collegiate Baseball's Player of the Week. Wantz leads UNCG with 58 strike outs on the year, ranking 13th in the NCAA in that category. His 12.53 strikeouts per nine innings ranks 13th in the NCAA.
UNCG possesses one of the top offenses in the NCAA. The Spartans lead the nation in batting average, runs, hits, sacrifice flies, slugging and on-base percentage, as well as being in the top ten in scoring, doubles, triples, and stolen bases. Currently, the Spartans have a .356 team average, a full 24 points higher than the next closes team, BYU. The Spartans have connected for at least 40 hits in every weekend series this season, as well as earning 10 hits in 21 of 29 games this year. Four times UNCG has totaled over 20 hits. In the previous 24 years of UNCG baseball, the 20+ hit plateau was hit only 10 times.
Ben Spitznagel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wabash Valley CC) has started all 30 games and has hit for a .405 average, leading the team. Spitznagel has scored 27 runs and driven in nine. Andrew Moritz (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) has hit for a .400 aver through 30 games. Moritz leads the Spartans with five triples, as well as being tied with Woody for the team lead with 10 doubles each. Woody leads UNCG with 36 RBI on the season, while hitting in the cleanup spot in the order. Dillon Stewart (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC) leads the Spartans with nine home runs this year. Stewart's 18 extra-base hits and 24 walks leads the team. L.J. Kalawaia (Wailuku, Hawai'i/Ohlone College) has earned a .386 average in 28 games this season. Kalawaia has earned a .489 on-base percentage and leads the team with 15 stolen bases.
The Spartans and Bulldogs have played 61 times, with the Bulldogs holding a 34-27 advantage in that time. In the last series, the Spartans won two of the three games, all being played at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Citadel did manage to defeat UNCG in an elimination game in the SoCon tournament last season.
The Citadel enter this weekend's series with a 12-18 overall record and are currently 2-1 in the SoCon after taking two games from VMI earlier this season. The Bulldogs started the season fast, going 5-1 in the first two weeks, defeating Virginia and Siena. The Citadel dropped four in a row to South Carolina and the College of Charleston to even their record at 5-5. After splitting a set of midweek games, the Bulldogs lost two of three to the Elon Phoenix. After losing a pair of midweeks to No. 19 Clemson, The Citadel took back-to-back series over Presbyterian and VMI before going on their current five-game losing skid.
The Citadel offense is led by Clay Martin. In 25 games this season, Martin has hit for a .273 average and has had four extra-base hits. Drew Ellis and Mike Deese lead the Bulldogs with three home runs each. Ellis is the RBI leads, driving in 19 runs this year while scoring 11 of his own. Ellis also leads the team with 12 extra-base hits. Jason Smith has started in 22 games and appeared in seven more. Smith has been a threat on the base paths, leading the bulldogs with nine stolen bases on the year. Seven more than any other Bulldog this year. Stephen Windham has hit in the cleanup role this year, driving in 13 runs on seven extra-base hits. The Citadel has had 12 different players start at least 13 games this year.
On the mound, The Citadel is set to start JP Sears Friday, Thomas Byelick Saturday, and Jacob Watcher Sunday. Sears, a preseason all SoCon second team selection, earned SoCon Pitcher of the Week for his last outing against a SoCon opponent. Sears struck out 19 Keydets in an 10-2 victory. Sears logged another quality start last weekend, throwing 6.0 innings allowing three earned runs and striking out seven in a 3-1 loss to Stetson. Thomas Byelick is set to start Saturday. Byelick started seven games this season, working in a team-high 43.0 innings. Behind Sears' 54 strikeouts, Byelick is second on The Citadel pitching staff with 29 K's this season. Byelick suffered a loss a week ago with the Bulldogs falling 7-0 to Stetson. Byelick worked 6.0 innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs. Jacob Watcher is set to start on Sunday. Watcher has made four appearances out of the bullpen to go with five starts on the year. Zach Lavery has worked in the closers role for the Bulldogs this year. Lavery has appeared in 17 games, earning a 2-0 record, with five saves. Lavery has a 3.75 ERA in his 24.0 innings, and has struck out 23 hitters. Kyle Smith has also been a key contributor out of the bullpen, logging 14 appearances this year. In 16.2 innings, Smith has struck out 20 batters. Jordan Buster and Ryan Stamler have also made 12 appearances this season, with Zach McKay working in 11 games.
Over the last 10 meetings, The Citadel holds a 6-4 advantage, including defeating UNCG in the SoCon tournament a year ago.
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