GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG baseball welcomes the Michigan State Spartans for a three-game series this weekend at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. UNCG and Michigan State will play at 4 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and wrap up Sunday at 1 p.m.The first 100 fans to Friday's game will receive a free UNCG tumbler.
The Blue and Gold enter the weekend with a 1-3 record. Michigan State is 4-0. MSU opened the season in Texas, against Abliene Christian University. The teams played four times on opening weekend, and MSU outscored the Wildcats 51-21.
Live stats will be available for each game this weekend. Friday will feature a live stream via the UNCG Sports YouTube page, and there will be an audio-only broadcast on Sunday. Saturday will not feature a stream. Links for all of these sources can be found on the UNCG baseball schedule page.
Starting pitching matchups
Friday – Jack Maynard – Jr. RHP (0-1, 13.50 ERA, 3.1 IP, 3 Ks) vs. Alex Troop – So. LHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 3 Ks)
Saturday – Bryce Hensley – Jr. LHP (0-1, 5.79 ERA, 4.2 IP, 2 Ks) vs. Ethan Landon – Jr. RHP (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 4.0 IP, 2 Ks)
Sunday – Matt Frisbee – So. RHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 4 Ks) vs. Mason Erla – Fr. RHP (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 4.0 IP, 0 Ks)
UNCG opened the season with a three-game series against No. 4 South Carolina. The Blue and Gold played tough throughout the three games, and scrapped together to win the series finale 1-0. UNCG's bats were uncharacteristically quiet against a superb South Carolina pitching staff. The offense woke up a bit in the midweek tilt with Wake Forest. After recording 10 hits in the three games against the Gamecocks, UNCG racked up 14 hits, with four doubles and a triple, before falling 15-8 to the Demon Deacons.
The Blue and Gold offense was on of the best in the country a season ago. UNCG led the country in batting average and slugging percentage. Austin Embler (Southern Pines, N.C./Pinecrest) leads the team with a .400 average in three games played. He has driven in a pair of runs and scored once. Tripp Shelton (Winston-Salem, N.C./West Forsyth) has tallied at least one hit in ever game this season, and Dillon Stewart (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC) leads the team with three extra-base hits.
On the hill, Jack Maynard (Crozet, Va./Patrick Henry CC) will start on Friday night. Maynard started the season opener against South Carolina, where he threw 3.1 innings, allowing six hits and five earned runs, and struck out three hitters. Bryce Hensley (Asheville, N.C./Catawba Valley CC) will start Saturday's contest. Hensley worked in 4.2 innings in the second matchup with South Carolina, allowing nine hits, four runs, three earned and picked up a pair of strikeouts. Matt Frisbee (Candler, N.C./Enka) will start the series finale. Frisbee logged 7.0 innings, shutting out the Gamecocks. Frisbee earned Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week, as well as Student Athlete of the Week for his efforts.
Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) and Chad Sykes (Creedmoor, N.C./Voyager Academy) continue to work late in games. Wantz picked up the save in UNCG's 1-0 victory over South Carolina. Sykes has made two appearances, logging 3.2 innings without allowing an earned run.
Michigan State features seven players who have hit over .370 who have played in at least three of MSU's four games this season. Chad Roskelly leads the way with a .667 average in three games. Danny Gleaves has hit for a .524 average, with five RBI. Infielder Dan Durkin, a 2016 first team All-Big 10 selection, has hit at a .500 clip, adding three doubles, a home run and 11 RBI. Marty Bechina leads the team with three home runs through the first four games.
MSU will use three players who started on opening weekend in this weekend's rotation. Alex Troop will get the ball in the series opener. The left-handed pitcher is a two-way player, hitting at a .375 average in eight at bats. Troop threw 5.0 innings in his first start, allowing two hits and one unearned run. Ethan Landon will start the Saturday matchup. Landon was not the pitcher of record in his last start, logging 4.0 innings, surrendering seven hits, four runs, two earned and a pair of strikeouts. Landon started 15 games last season, finishing with an 8-3 record and a 2.75 ERA. Freshman Mason Erla will wrap up the series. He has a 9.00 ERA, tossing 4.0 innings in his first outing of the season. The rookie gave up five runs, four earned and opponents hit .381 against him.
Nathan Witt, Jake Lowery, and Walter Borkovich have all appeared in more than one contest this season. Witt has thrown a total of 1.1 innings, and has yet to allow a hit. Lowery has logged 5.2 innings, allowing one earned run and striking out six batters. Borkovich has a 2.25 ERA in 4.0 innings. Riley McCauley has recorded MSU's only save this season.
UNCG and Michigan State will play three games this weekend, all at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. Friday will start at 4:00 p.m., Saturday 2:00 p.m., and it will wrap up on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
-UNCG-
