GREENSBORO -- Finally, after two months and 21 non-conference games, UNCG will play its Southern Conference opener when the Spartans host East Tennessee State in a three-game series at UNCG Softball Stadium.
UNCG (14-7 overall, 0-0 SoCon) will open with a doubleheader against ETSU (12-6, 0-0) at 1 p.m. Friday. The Spartans and Buccaneers, who hold the best records among SoCon teams heading into league play, will wrap up the series with a single game at noon Saturday.
The matchup is a good one, and it features the three top hitters in the SoCon so far this season.
ETSU outfielder Lilly Holston is batting .512 with seven extra-base hits, 13 RBIs and a league-best .549 on-base percentage.
UNCG seniors
Kayleigh Willis and
Jasmine Palmer round out the top three. Willis is batting .383 with seven doubles, three home runs and 19 RBIs. Palmer comes in at .379 with five homers, 17 RBIs, 12 walks and a .514 on-base percentage.
Senior center fielder
Makenna Matthijs ranks seventh in the league with her .338 batting average. She's hit six home runs and has SoCon-bests of 22 runs scored and 22 RBIs.
Sophomore third baseman
Maycin Brown, who was named SoCon Player of the Week on Monday, is batting .459 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 37 at-bats (not enough to qualify for league leader lists). Brown has scored a run in 12 consecutive games played, and she has hit safely in six of her last seven, going 12-for-21 (.571) with nine RBIs in that span.
The Spartans offense has been potent top to bottom.
They're batting .302 as a team, and they average 2.0 home runs per game, fifth best in the nation. UNCG has homered in eight consecutive games and has 10 multi-homer games so far this season. The G has scored three or more runs in a single inning 25 times.
ETSU's strength is its pitching staff, which has posted a 2.79 team ERA. Kelly Schmidt (6-2, 1.20 ERA) has four shutouts in nine starts, and opponents are batting just .190 against her. Schmidt has been named Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week in consecutive weeks. MacKenzie Dyson (2-0, 3.27 ERA) and Taylor Boling (2-2, 6.20 ERA) have seven appearances each.
UNCG sophomore right-hander
Morgan Scott (6-3, 1 save, 2.95 ERA) leads the SoCon with 71 strikeouts in 57 innings. Freshman right-hander
Alina Varga (6-0, 4.82 ERA) has struck out 38 in 40.2 innings.
