GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team opens the 2018 season tomorrow afternoon as it hosts the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a three-game series at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Spartans and Mountaineers are scheduled to meet up Friday at 4 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Live stats will be available for all three games and Sunday's game will be streamed on the SoCon Digital Network. Stats are available via uncgstats.com. Links for each of these services are also located on the UNCG baseball schedule page.

UNCG leads the all-times series with the Mountaineers, 38-26. Link Jarrett has led the Spartans in five games against the Mountaineers, going 1-4. His lone win came during the 2013 season when both teams were part of the Southern Conference. The last time these teams met came during the 2014 season, in a two-game midweek series in Boone, North Carolina. The last time App State came to Greensboro, the Mountaineers walked away with a 2-1 series win with UNCG earning a 6-5 victory in 11 innings in the Saturday matchup.

The Spartans were picked to win the Southern Conference in the league's preseason coaches poll and second in the media poll. UNCG led the preseason honors with seven individuals earning All-SoCon awards, with five first team selections. First team selections included second baseman Austin Embler (Southern Pines, N.C./Pinecrest), third baseman Caleb Webster (Randleman, N.C./Randleman), outfielders Dillon Stewart (Coats, N.C./Brunswick CC) and Andrew Moritz (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) and designated hitter Devin Ruiz (Pennsauken, N.J./Paul VI). Second team honorees were right-handed pitcher Matt Frisbee (Candler, N.C./Enka) and shortstop Tripp Shelton (Winston-Salem, N.C./West Forsyth).

UNCG is coming off of a 36-24 season that saw it win its first-ever SoCon Tournament Title and earned a berth in the NCAA Clemson Regional. Key returners for the Spartan offense include Moritz and Webster. Moritz has a career .395 batting average in 100 games played. Last season he hit for a team best .392 average with three home runs and led the team with 16 stolen bases. Webster burst on the scene to hit for a .383 average in his freshman campaign. He was one off the team lead with 14 doubles and both players ranked among the toughest players to strikeout in the country, combining to strike out just 39 times in 441 at bats.

Key returners include the power bats of Cesar Trejo (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale), Stewart and Jake Kusz (Durham, N.C./Riverside). Trejo is the only one of these three to compete for the entire season in 2017. Trejo led UNCG with 12 home runs and drove in 56 runs as the main power threat in the 2017 lineup. Stewart missed the majority of 2017 with an injury but returns for his redshirt senior season. In 2016, Stewart led UNCG with 14 long balls and drove in 62 runs as one of the key components in UNCG's most prolific offensive teams. Kusz also missed 2017 with an injury. He was a key cog in the 2016 team when he started all 59 games behind the plate. Offensively, he hit for a .277 average with 17 doubles and nine home runs while driving in 52 runs.

The pitching staff lost just one player from the 2017 staff that posted a 4.93 ERA and accumulated a school-record 19 saves. Opening weekend's starting rotation features two arms that have been weekend starters for the last two seasons in Frisbee and senior southpaw Bryce Hensley (Asheville, N.C./Catawba Valley CC). Frisbee will get the nod Friday night. The junior earned an 8-4 record in 16 starts and logged a team-high 96.2 innings of work in 2017. Hensley was second on the team with 91.2 innings as he started a team-high 17 contests. The lefty tied for the team-lead with 80 strikeouts on the season.

Seniors Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) and Jack Maynard (Crozet, Va./Patrick Henry CC) anchor the backend of the bullpen. Wantz has led the Spartans in relief appearances in each of the last two seasons and was named a captain for the second-straight year earlier this week. Wantz made 27 relief appearances to earn a 4.08 ERA and struck out 64 hitters in 68.1 innings. Maynard transitioned to the bullpen during the second half of the season in 2017. Maynard made 16 relief appearances where he earned a 1.77 ERA in 35.2 innings, earning three saves and striking out 46 of his team-high 80 hitters.

The 2018 squad also features 10 newcomers, with seven position players and three pitchers. Of those newcomers, Trey Kissack (Grand Island, Neb./Southeast CC) will make his Spartan debut Sunday afternoon on the mound. Kissack was a starter at Southeast where he earned a 5-3 record in 14 starts and led his team with 70 strikeouts in 68.1 innings of work.

This season is Kermit Smith's second season as the skipper at Appalachian State. This year's team features 18 newcomers to a program that finished 19-36 and 8-22 in the Sun Belt last season. Of the 24 letterwinners in 2017, 11 will not return, including six position starters.

Although the batting order will feature several newcomers, the App State pitching staff returns four of their primary starters and its closer. Andrew Vaccacio will make his Mountaineer debut Friday evening as the left-handed pitcher transfers in from St. Johns River State CC where he earned a 4-4 record and a 4.34 ERA. He also added five saves and 53 strikeouts in 37.1 innings on the mound.

Colin Schmid was App State's most effective starter in 2017, starting 13 games, earning a 6-7 record and a 3.61 ERA. He logged a team-high 87.1 innings on the mound and led the team with 79 strikeouts. Rounding out the rotation is Travis Holden. Holden is a right-handed pitcher who made 13 starts last season with one complete game. He earned a 2-7 record in 65.2 innings pitched and struck out 44 hitters.

Probable Pitching Matchups

Friday – UNCG | Matt Frisbee, Jr., RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 Ks) vs. App State | Andrew Vaccacio, Jr., LHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 Ks)

Saturday – UNCG | Bryce Hensley, Sr., LHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 Ks) vs. App State | Colin Schmid, Jr., LHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 Ks)

Sunday – UNCG | Trey Kissack, So., RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 Ks) vs. App State | Travis Holden, Sr., RHP (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 Ks)

-UNCG-