GREENSBORO -- Happy birthday, coach. And among your gifts is a sweep of a key Southern Conference doubleheader.
UNCG left fielder
Hannah Kincer made a fine backhanded running catch, snaring Faith Adams' two-out drive near the warning track to secure the Spartans' 4-3 victory over East Tennessee State in Friday's second game at UNCG Softball Stadium
The Spartans (16-7 overall, 2-0 SoCon) won the opener 4-3 in extra innings, beating ETSU (12-10, 0-2 SoCon) on
Samantha Lagrama's two-out RBI single to right-center field.
After Kincer's catch finished off the sweep, the UNCG players sang "Happy Birthday" to head coach
Janelle Breneman, now in her ninth season leading the Spartans program.
The red-hot Spartans, preseason favorites in the SoCon, have won five of their last six and eight of 10. They finish the series against ETSU with a single game at noon Saturday at UNCG Softball Stadium.
The teams came into Friday's doubleheader with the best two records among all SoCon teams so far this season. Both games lived up to the hype.
UNCG sophomore right-hander
Morgan Scott pitched a complete game in the opener. Scott (7-3, 2.86 ERA) allowed three runs on four hits, striking out nine in nine innings.
Sophomore third baseman
Maycin Brown hit a solo home run in the first inning for UNCG, and Kincer hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game.
Senior center fielder
Makenna Matthijs led off the ninth with a single off ETSU reliever Julie Fritz, and Brown laid down a sacrifice bunt. Matthijs took third on senior
Jasmine Palmer's groundout, and Lagrama, a junior from Denton, singled on a 1-1 pitch to win it.
UNCG freshman right-hander
Alina Varga (7-0, 4.68 ERA) got the win in the nightcap, with senior
Hannah Stiltner (2-2) picking up her first save of the season. The Bucs scored three runs in the first inning, but Varga and Stiltner shut out ETSU the rest of the way. Varga struck out five in 5.2 innings.
Clinging to the 4-3 lead in the fifth inning, Varga worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam. She struck out Kylie Toler, then coaxed an inning-ending grounder from Andrea Sarhatt.
ETSU loaded the bases again in the sixth, and Stiltner came on with two outs and retired Nikki Grupp on a come-backer. Stiltner faced five batters to get the four outs she needed to finish the game, stranding the tying run on Kincer's fine catch.
Palmer went 2-for-3 with a solo home run for UNCG, and Matthijs hit a three-run homer in the third inning to account for all the Spartans' runs.
Katie Stettler tripled and
Brooklynn Maxwell walked to set the table for Matthijs' home run.
UNCG has now hit at least one home run in 10 consecutive games. The Spartans have 46 home runs in 23 games, and their 2.0 HR per game average ranks fifth in the nation.
