GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG baseball hosts SoCon favorites Samford this weekend, opening conference play with three games against the Bulldogs inside UNCG Baseball Stadium. After some incoming inclement weather forced the Spartans to postpone Friday's doubleheader, coach Billy Godwin's side will now play two on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., with the finale to take place at the same time on Sunday. With the restructuring of the conference schedule this will be the first of two series the Spartans play against the Bulldogs in 2021, with the pair meeting in Birmingham in mid-May.
While UNCG's 11-5 record on the season appears superior to the Bulldogs' 7-10 mark, both teams have scheduled a tough non-conference slate in 2021. Outside of contests against SEC members, the Spartans and Samford hold season records of 11-2 and 7-3 respectively. UNCG does have the leg-up on their opponents when it comes to playing top-25 opponents this year however. The Spartans are 2-0 with wins against previously ranked No. 12 NC State and No. 13 Virginia Tech, while the Bulldogs are 0-7 in games played against then-ranked No. 2 Mississippi State, No. 7 Florida and No. 25 Texas A&M.
Games 1 & 2
Who: Samford
Where: UNCG Baseball Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.
When: Saturday, March 20 | 1 p.m. (DH)
Probables G1: UNCG; RHP Austin Koehn (1-1, 4.03) v SAM; LHP Samuel Strickland (2-2, 3.00)
Gm 1: Watch | Live Stats
Probables G2: UNCG; RHP Austin Parsley (2-0, 3.86) v SAM; RHP Jesse McCord (0-3, 9.87)
Gm 2: Watch | Live Stats
Game 3
Who: Samford
Where: UNCG Baseball Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.
When: Sunday, March 21 | 1 p.m.
Probables: UNCG; LHP Jared Mathewson (2-2, 6.52) v SAM; RHP Zach Hester (0-1, 5.73)
Watch | Live Stats
HOW'S THEIR FORM?
-- The Spartans took down their second top-25 team of 2021 after defeating No. 13 Virginia Tech in the midweek this last Tuesday. UNCG is now an undefeated 2-0 against the ACC this year after beating then-ranked No. 12 NC State back in February
-- The Bulldogs are currently on a five game skid and hold a 7-10 record on the season. Samford has made a habit of scheduling SEC opponents in 2021 however. Taking away all of their games against the conference the Bulldogs actually hold a 7-3 mark
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
-- Leadoff man Corey Rosier is currently on a four-game hitting streak and has reached first safely in each of the Spartans' last nine competitions. He is hitting 18-for-37 (.486) over that span and currently leads the UNCG roster with a .373 average for the year. He also ranks ninth in the nation with 23 RBI
-- Catcher Dallas Callahan threw out four potential base stealers against Virginia Tech on Tuesday, three of which were recorded in the first two innings of the contest. His four caught stealing is the most any Spartan has had in a single game since prior to 2000. The Spartan defense has caught seven runners stealing in 2021, the program record for a single campaign is 32
-- While UNCG's 32 stolen bases are second in the SoCon, the team's mark ranks 10th in all of Division I baseball. They are led by Zack Budzik, who is yet to get caught in his nine attempts this year, whose stolen base total leads the conference and ranks 11th in the country
SCOUTING SAMFORD
-- Junior infielder Towns King leads the Samford roster with a .333 batting average in 2021. Over his last 10 appearances he has averaged .360 with two doubles and four RBI
-- Freshman righty Chase Isbell has been one of the Bulldogs' most reliable arms out of the pen this year. Over seven appearances and 10.1 IP, Isbell has accrued three saves while striking out 18 and surrendering just three walks. He has a team best 1.74 ERA and just seven hits against (.179 BAA)
SERIES HISTORY
-- UNCG holds a 13-22 record against the Bulldogs all-time. The pair have traded sweeps over their last two meetings with Samford winning three against UNCG in 2019, and the Spartans taking all three in 2018. The two sides went 2-2 against one another in 2017, with UNCG getting the better of their SoCon rivals in the SoCon Championship tournament that year
-- The hosting team has won each of the past three series between the Bulldogs and Spartans
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