GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG and Wake Forest baseball teams collide for the 11th time in the past seven years at the David F. Couch Ballpark on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Spartans are 5-5 against the Demon Deacons under head coach Link Jarrett, earning two of those victories in Winston-Salem on April 8, 2014 (4-2) and Feb. 28, 2018 (11-5).
UNCG (3-2) will be looking to halt a two-game losing streak with freshman right-hander Austin Koehn (0-0, 1.93 ERA) facing off against right-hander Shane Muntz (0-0, 2.25).
After playing at Virginia Tech in a series of games on Feb. 24-25, the Spartans have now faced seven different Atlantic Coast Conference opponents under Jarrett. UNCG has also squared off against Clemson (2x), Duke (5x), Georgia Tech (3x), North Carolina (1x), NC State (7x), Virginia Tech (2x) and Wake Forest (10x) over the last seven seasons. The Spartans are 9-21 in clashes with ACC opponents, with three of the wins coming in extra innings against NC State, Duke and Wake Forest.
ANALYZING THE MEETING WITH WAKE FOREST
-Wake Forest and UNC Greensboro have six common opponents between the two schools this season including Quinnipiac, Elon, Furman, Charlotte, Virginia Tech and High Point.
-The Demon Deacons are UNCG's most common ACC opponent during Link Jarrett's time at the helm. The two teams have faced each other on 10 occasions, five times in Winston-Salem and five times in Greensboro, over the last seven seasons. They are 5-5 in these 10 meetings with the Spartans winning at David F. Couch Stadium twice during that span (Feb. 25, 2014, 11-10 / Feb. 28, 2018, 11-5).
-In UNCG's five wins over the Deacons during the last seven years, the Spartans offense has scored at least nine runs on four occasions, including an 18-3 win on April 12, 2016, which marked the most runs under head coach Link Jarrett against any ACC opponent.
-UNCG has outscored Wake Forest 53-28 in the five wins, averaging 10.6 runs per game while limiting the Demon Deacons to an average of 5.6 runs per contest. In three of those games, which took place on Feb. 25, 2014 (11-10); April 12, 2016 (18-3) and Feb. 28, 2018 (11-5); the Spartans topped double figures in runs.
-The Spartans have four hitters with a least a .300 batting average on the season, including Austin Embler who leads the way with a.524 (11-21) average. Embler, also ranks atop the team in slugging percentage (.810) and on-base percentage (.600) for the Spartans, has a double, triple and home run to his credit in 2019. He is tied with teammate Hogan Windish for second-most runs (five), one off the pace set by Caleb Webster. The other three Spartans hitting at least .300 on the early season are Greg Hardison (.409; 9-for-22), Ryan Caveness (.333; 7-for-21) and Zach Kuchmaner (.300; 6-for-20).
-UNCG's pitching staff has a combined 3.77 ERA with six players, including Jeremiah Triplett (1-0, 1.59) and Austin Koehn (1-0, 1.93), owning less than a 2.50 ERA. In two starts, Triplett has logged 11.1 innings, allowed seven hits, two runs, two earned runs, six walks and struck out nine opposing hitters on the season. Meanwhile, Koehn made his lone start against High Point and came away with a no decision after going 4.2 innings, surrendering three hits, two runs (one earned run), one walk and striking out five Panther hitters.
The UNCG bullpen features four pitchers with less than a 2.50 ERA including Chad Sykes (0-0, 0.00 ERA), Alex Hoppe (0-0, 0.00), Maddux Holshouser (0-0, 2.25) and Jack Voigt (0-1, 2.45). Sykes is tied with Triplett for second-most strikeouts (nine) on the team, after tossing four innings on the season. Hoppe has made one appearance, working three innings and striking out three, while Holshouser has allowed only one earned run over four innings and two appearances. Voigt has taken the mound twice for UNCG, working 3.2 innings, allowing five hits, two runs (one earned) and striking out three.
-Wake Forest comes into the game 4-4 overall and is 3-3 at home this season. The three wins came over Sacred Heart (14-1 / Feb. 15), Georgetown (5-3 / Feb. 17) and Quinnipiac (15-5 / Feb. 23). The Demon Deacons have scored 34 runs in their four home wins (11.3 runs per game), while holding their opponents to three runs (3 runs per game) in the process.
UP NEXT FOR THE SPARTANS
Once the Demon Deacons and Spartans play on Wednesday, UNCG returns home to host Penn for a three-game series that starts on Friday, March 1 at 4 p.m. The second game of the series is set for Saturday, March 2 (2 p.m.) and the two teams wrap up the weekend on Sunday, March 3 (1 p.m.).
