GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG baseball, fresh off taking two of three games from Western Carolina over the weekend, will host the UNC Asheville Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday night at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
UNCG has won eight of its last nine contests. In midweek games this season, the Spartans have gone 2-2, winning the last two games. There will be live stats and a video stream available for Tuesday's game. Links for each of these services are linked on the UNCG baseball schedule page.
Probable Pitching Matchup
UNCG – Dan Loats – Jr., RHP (1-2, 5.40 ERA, 25.0 IP, 22 Ks) vs. UNC Asheville – Austin Fahr – So., LHP (0-0, 19.64 ERA, 7.1 IP, 3 Ks)
Scouting the Spartans
UNCG sports a 15-9 record entering Tuesday's contest. The Spartans have won eight of their last nine games, and are hitting at a .330 team average, ranking fifth-best in the country. St. John's currently leads the nation with a .337 average. The Spartan offense paces the nation with 21 triples, six more than the competition.
Caleb Webster (Randleman, N.C./Randleman) and Austin Embler (Southern Pines, N.C./Pinecrest) are each hitting over the .400 mark. Webster hits at a .443 clip, with a team-high .623 slugging percentage. Webster has nine extra base hits and has driven in 19 runs. Embler hits at a .404 average in 23 games. He has hit a pair of home runs, four doubles and a triple, while driving in a team-best 22 runs. Andrew Moritz (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) hits at a .392 average and is the lone Spartan to start in every game this season. Moritz has scored a team-high 30 runs and stolen six bases. He has hit six triples on the year, and 13 in his career.
Dan Loats (Eden Prairie, Minn./NIACC) will get the start in Tuesday's game. Loats has appeared in six games, making four midweek starts. In his last three outings, Loats has allowed just seven hits, one earned run, struck out 15 hitters in 14.4 innings. Chad Sykes (Creedmoor, N.C./Voyager Academy) works as UNCG's closer. The junior has earned a 1.98 ERA, appearing in 11 games, earning six saves. Sykes has 16 strikeouts this season, and has struck out at least one hitter in 33-straight appearances. Alex Sova (Midland, Mich./Kellogg CC) has appeared in seven games out of the bullpen. Sova has earned a 2.53 ERA in 10.2 innings, striking out 11 hitters.
Scouting the Bulldogs
UNC Asheville is 10-12 on the season, and enters having taken two of three from Big South-rival Presbyterian. The Bulldogs are 0-4 in midweek competitions, and are allowing 12 runs per game in midweek tilts. UNC Asheville originally scheduled six games against Southern Conference opponents, but due to inclement weather, the Bulldogs have played four of those games, and are 2-2. Asheville opened the season with a three-game series at Samford, falling in the first two games.
Two players are currently hitting over the .290-plateau in the Bulldog lineup. Joe Tietjen has started in all 22 games, hitting at a .298 average. He has ran four out of the year and has a .548 slugging percentage. He also leads the team with 11 stolen bases. Brandon Lankford hits at a .292 average and leads the team with five home runs. Lankford has driven in 20 RBI with eight doubles and 16 runs scored.
Sophomore southpaw Austin Fahr will get the start for the Bulldogs tomorrow. Fahr has appeared in six games, making one other start this season. Fahr has thrown in 7.1 innings, striking out three hitters. He has allowed four home runs and 16 earned runs. Eric Whitecavage has appeared in a team-high 11 games. Whitecavage has earned a 1-0 record, with a 4.67 ERA and struck out six batters in 17.1 innings. Justin Woods has earned a team-best four saves. Woods has thrown in 9.0 innings, striking out six hitters.
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