GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG baseball is set to host the Wofford Terriers in a three-game series to begin Thursday evening. The Spartans and Terriers will play at 6:00 Thursday, 3:00 Friday, and 1:00 Saturday. UNCG is currently 21-11 and 7-2 in the Southern Conference. Wofford is 18-16 and 3-3 in SoCon play.
Live stats and video will be available for all three games. Links for these services will be on the UNCG baseball schedule page. The stream for each game will be through the UNCG Sports YouTube channel.
Prior to Saturday's contest, there will be an Easter Egg Hunt on the concourse of the UNCG Baseball Stadium. Fans ages 10 and younger are eligible to participate, but must bring their own basket.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Game 1 - UNCG | Bryce Hensley. Jr. - LHP (5-3, 3.57 ERA, 40.2 IP, 41 Ks) vs. Wofford | Adam Scott, Jr. - LHP (3-3, 4.62 ERA, 48.2 IP, 71 Ks)
Game 2 - UNCG | Matt Frisbee, So. - RHP (5-1, 3.52 ERA, 46.0 IP, 33 Ks) vs. Wofford | Spencer Kulman, Sr. - RHP (6-2, 4.01 ERA, 51.2 IP, 43 Ks)
Game 3 - UNCG | Dan Loats, Jr. - RHP (2-2, 5.30 ERA, 35.2 IP, 34 Ks) vs. Wofford | Austin Higginbotham (2-3, 4.89 ERA, 49.2 IP, 39 Ks)
A Little History -- Wofford
The Spartans and Terriers have met up a total of 63 times with UNCG holding a 44-19 advantage. Last season, the two teams met in Spartanburg and the Spartans take two of three from the Terriers. After falling in the opener, 12-3, UNCG used 6-1 victories in the second and third games to take the series. The last time the two played in Greensboro, Wofford took two of three, with UNCG earning a 14-7 victory in the series finale.
Scouting the Spartans
UNCG enters having won five of the last six games and 14 of the last 17. The Spartans dropped a midweek contest against the NC State Wolfpack Tuesday night. Last weekend, UNCG earned its first-ever sweep over the Furman Paladins at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Spartans are currently second in the Southern Conference, trailing the Mercer Bears by one game.
The Spartan offense is led by freshman standout Caleb Webster (Randleman, N.C./Randleman). Webster has hit for a .419 average in 26 games this season. Since being inserted into the starting lineup, UNCG has gone 19-5. Webster has yet to make an error while manning the hot corner. The rookie sensation has recorded hits in 19 of the last 22 games, with six multiple RBI games. Statistically, Webster is one of the toughest player in the country to strike out. Having struck out just three times this season, his 31.0 at bats between strikeouts is second-best in the country. Austin Embler (Southern Pines, N.C./Pinecrest) has hit at a .382 average with three home runs this season. Andrew Moritz (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) has started 31 games this year and leads the team with six triples. That total is tied for the most in the country. The team has hit 27 triples this year, leading the country. Cesar Trejo (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale) leads the team with six home runs this season, and has driven in a team-best 32 runs.
UNCG will feature the same rotation as last weekend. Bryce Hensley (Asheville, N.C./Catawba Valley CC) will be making his second Friday night start and his ninth start this season. Hensley has earned a 3.57 ERA in 45.1 innings with 41 strikeouts. In his last appearance, the junior threw 7.0 innings allowing three hits and no runs as UNCG earned a 3-1 victory over the Furman Paladins. Matt Frisbee (Candler, N.C./Enka) will get the ball Saturday afternoon. Frisbee has threw in a team-high 46.0 innings while earning a 5-1 record. He has earned a 5-1 record with a 3.52 ERA. His last appearance, he worked 4.0 innings allowing four runs, two earned and struck out five as UNCG earned a 7-6 victory in 11 innings. Dan Loats (Eden Prairie, Minn./NIACC) will be making his second Sunday start and his sixth start overall. Last week in the series finale with Furman, Loats gave UNCG a quality start. The junior threw 6.0 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out four hitters.
The Spartan bullpen features a trio of juniors who work exclusively out of the bullpen. Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) leads the team with 15 appearances. The junior has earned a 5-2 record and four saves in his 40.2 innings of work. He leads the team with 45 strikeouts and opponents are hitting just .204 against him. Chad Sykes (Creedmoor, N.C./Voyager Academy) serves as UNCG's closer this season, having earned seven saves. That total is 23rd-best in the country. Sykes has appeared in 14 games, throwing in 18.2 innings. He has earned a 2.41 ERA and a 1-0 record with 21 strikeouts. Sykes has struck out at least one hitter in his last 36-consecutive appearances. Alex Sova (Midland, Mich./Kellogg CC) has appeared in ten games out of the bullpen. Sova has thrown in 14.0 innings, striking out 16 hitters and has earned a 3.21 ERA. Jack Maynard (Crozet, Va./Patrick Henry CC) has made a pair of successful appearances out of the bullpen. Maynard, who was taken out of the weekend rotation, threw 4.0 innings, striking out six batters without giving up a walk in Saturday's game with Furman.
Scouting the Terriers
Wofford comes into this weekend's games having knocked off UNC Asheville in Asheville Tuesday night. The Terriers have earned an 18-16 overall record and have won their last two games. Wofford is 3-3 in Southern Conference play. They opened the SoCon slate with Furman, taking two of three games. Wofford defeated the Paladins 9-8 in extra innings in the first game of the series and won game one of the doubleheader the following day, 21-2 but fell in the nightcap, 12-4. Against VMI last week, Wofford dropped the first two games before taking the finale, 13-3.
McClain Bradley leads the Terrier offense with a .397 average in 19 games. Bradley has scored 20 runs and has driven in 21. He has hit at a .630 slugging percentage with four home runs and five doubles. Brett Hash leads the team with eight home runs and has hit for a .326 average. Max McDougald hits at a .325 clip with seven doubles and a home run. Kody Ruedisili is tied with UNCG's Moritz for the most triples in the country. Ruedisili hits at a .280 average with three home runs and has driven in 17. Mack Nathanson is second on the team with seven home runs. As a team, Wofford has stolen 91 bases, 38 more than any other team in the SoCon and best in the country. The Terriers average 2.65 stolen bases per game.
Wofford pitching will look the same as it was last weekend. Adam Scott will get the ball Friday night. Scott has earned a 3-3 record with a 4.62 ERA. Scott has started all eight of his appearances, logging 48.2 innings. Scott leads the team with 71 strikeouts this season, averaging 13.13 per nine innings pitched. Spencer Kulman will start on Saturday. Kulman has made eight starts with two bullpen appearances. The right-hander has earned a 4.01 ERA in 51.2 innings and has struck out 43 batters. Kulman has tossed two complete games in back-to-back games against LaSalle and Yale. The Yale matchup was a seven-inning affair in which he allowed four hits and struck otu a season-high eight. Against LaSalle, Kulman threw nine innings, allowing just two hits and striking out five hitters. Austin Higginbotham will start the finale Sunday. The lefty has earned a 4.89 ERA in 49.2 innings of work. He has earned a 2-3 record and has struck out 39 batters. He has thrown one complete game two weeks ago against Villanova. He scattered three hits and struck out seven batters. His season high for strikeouts in a game is set at eight.
Wofford has uses three primary relievers out of its bullpen. Merritt Huber leads the team with 16 appearances. Huber has thrown 13.2 innings, striking out ten hitters. He has also gone 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA. Reece Maniscalso and Jordan Accetta have each appeared in 13 games. Maniscalso has earned a 5.54 ERA and a 1-0 record in 13 innings of work. He has struck out 10 batters and holds opponents to a .255 average. Accetta leads the team with four saves and has earned a 1-2 record with a 7.31 ERA. His 19 strikeouts are most among primary relievers. Chris Sheehan has been another consistent arm out of the bullpen. Sheehan has earned a 1.80 ERA in 15.0 innings. He started the midweek contest with UNC Asheville, logging 5.0 innings and six hits in a 17-8 win.
-UNCG-
