GREENSBORO, N.C. – After completing a three-game series against Western Carolina this weekend, the UNCG baseball team makes a quick turnaround to host High Point on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The game was originally set for Tuesday evening, but was moved due to inclement weather in the forecast.
The Spartans (17-9) are looking to get back on track and improve on their 14-3 home mark in 2019, after suffering a pair of setbacks to Western Carolina over the weekend. UNCG is 20-12 all-time against the Panthers, winning their most recent meeting 6-2 on Feb. 19 in High Point.
High Point enters the game winning three of its last four games, moving to 11-14 in the process, after taking a midweek clash against N.C. Central (March 26) and two of three games against Charleston Southern over the weekend. The Panthers are 7-5 away from home this season.
UNCG will send freshman right-hander Colin Best (0-0, 7.71 ERA) to the mound for his second career start on Tuesday, while the Panthers will counter with Andrew Gottfried (0-4, 7.85 ERA). Best tossed 3.2 innings in his first start against Princeton (March 10), allowing one hit, two runs and four walks while striking out two Tiger hitters. Gottfried has made five starts for High Point in 2019.
TAKING A LOOK AT THE HIGH POINT GAME
-The Spartans have played nine of the 10 schools that make up the current Big South Conference in program history dating back to 1991, with Longwood being the only program that UNCG has never faced on the diamond. UNCG is 75-51, which equals to a .595 winning percentage, against Big South programs in that span.
-UNCG has gone head-to-head against High Point (32x) and UNC Asheville (28x), the most of any Big South programs. The Spartans have won at least 20 games in the series with those two programs, owning a 21-7 mark against UNC Asheville and a 20-12 record in the rivalry with High Point. That includes a 6-2 victory over the Panthers earlier this season, which came in the Furniture City.
The Spartans are 9-9 (.500 winning percentage) under head coach Link Jarrett against Big South programs entering the second meeting with the Panthers this season. Jarrett is 5-5 all-time against the Panthers, claiming his first win in the series between the two programs on Feb. 13, 2015. The Spartans are 3-1 against High Point at home under the direction of Jarrett, winning three straight since a 12-8 victory on Feb. 13, 2015.
-The Spartans were 2-0 and High Point was 1-2 when the two teams last clashed on Feb. 19 at HPU. Since that point, UNCG has gone 15-9, while amassing a 14-3 record at home, while the Panthers are 10-12 overall and 5-4 on the road.
The two have played only three common opponents at this juncture of the season (N.C. A&T, Elon and Virginia Tech). High Point a pair of wins over the Aggies (8-1; Feb. 27 / 3-2; March 13) before dropping a 10-8 decision at Elon (March 5) and suffering a 16-1 loss to Virginia Tech (March 19).
-Three members of the UNCG baseball team—Coleman Sawyer, Greg Hardison, Josh Madole—have ongoing hitting streaks of at least eight games. Sawyer owns the longest hitting streak for the Spartans this season (12 games), surpassing Hardison on Sunday, March 31 against Western Carolina, after Hardison missed the series with the Catamounts due to injury. Madole, who has reached base via a hit in his last eight games, has put together the third-longest hitting streak of the season in the process. Both Sawyer and Hardison began their hitting streaks in the first game of the doubleheader against Princeton on March 10.
-Chad Sykes and Corey Jackson have proved to be a major force out of the UNCG bullpen in 2019. Sykes leads the way for the Spartans in saves (four), ERA (0.67) and strikeouts (37), and after earning his third win of the season against Western Carolina (March 29) in the series opener, tied Jackson in most wins on the staff. Jackson (3-1) has come out of the bullpen to fan 29 opposing hitters, which is second-most on the team. They highlight a UNCG bullpen that is responsible for 13 of the team's 17 wins on the season.
ON DECK FOR THE SPARTANS
The Spartans will return to SoCon play this weekend when they host Furman (April 5-7) for a three-game series at UNCG Baseball Stadium. The series begins on Friday, April 5 with a 6 p.m. contest. It continues on Saturday at 3 p.m. and concludes on Sunday, April 7 with a 1 p.m. contest.
