GREENSBORO, N.C.  – UNCG baseball will look for back-to-back SoCon series wins this weekend, with ETSU coming to Greensboro for three games this Friday and Saturday. With game one originally scheduled for a 2 p.m. first pitch on April 2nd, the series will now be kicked off at 4 p.m. on that same day, with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on slate the following afternoon. The Spartans are on a run against the Bucs over the past decade-plus, having won 11 of their past 14 meetings against ETSU, and winning all of their series against the side since 2005. 

Game 1
Who: ETSU
Where: UNCG Baseball Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.
When: Friday, April 2 | 4 p.m. 
Probables: UNCG; RHP Austin Koehn (1-2, 5.22) v ETSU; RHP Hunter Loyd (4-0, 2.16)
Watch | Live Stats

Games 2 & 3
Who: ETSU
Where: UNCG Baseball Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.
When: Saturday, April 3 | 1:00 p.m. (DH)
Probables G1: UNCG; RHP Jacob Curry (1-0, 5.13) v ETSU; LHP Colby Stuart (1-1, 4.05)
Gm 1: Watch | Live Stats
Probables G2: UNCG; RHP Brendan Collins (2-1, 6.00) v ETSU; RHP Nathaniel Tate (2-2, 3.46)
Gm 2: Watch | Live Stats

HOW'S THEIR FORM?
-- The Spartans were felled by NC State in the midweek, just a few days removed from winning their first SoCon series of the year against VMI. Despite that loss to the Wolfpack, the Spartans are still outscoring opponents 24-8 in their past three contests
-- The Bucs are coming off a midweek loss of their own after facing Radford on Tuesday. Like the Spartans, ETSU has played its lone two SoCon series against Samford and VMI in the past two weeks, taking one of three from the Bulldogs and two of three from the Keydets

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
-- The Spartans' 121 bases on balls remain one of the top marks in the nation, sitting 16th after this week's midweek action. They are led by redshirt freshman Pres Cavenaugh in that category, whose 21 walks is second in the SoCon and 14th in the nation. Cavenaugh has drawn a walk in each of his past three appearances, and nine in his last seven
-- Outfielder Corey Rosier has been making a case as a potential SoCon Player of the Year nominee. The Maryland native currently leads the conference with 35 hits and three triples in 2021, while his 61 total bases are runner-up and his .616 slugging percentage ranks fifth
-- Right hander Brandon Stephens delivered his 10th shutout relief appearance of the season against NC State on Tuesday, his fourth consecutive shutout performance. No. 9 Tennessee is the only team to plate runners against Stephens this year, as his 3.12 ERA leads all UNCG arms with at least 10 innings under their belt
-- The Spartans' game against NC State ended a streak of three straight games with double-digit hits, after the side collected 34 in three games at VMI last weekend. They are averaging just over nine knocks per contest in 2021

SCOUTING ETSU
-- The Bucs' 3.88 team ERA is the top mark in the SoCon so far this year, led by Friday starter Hunter Loyd. Loyd currently holds a 4-0 record with a 2.16 ERA. He has a K/9 average of 11.9 over his 33.1 IP, and has struck out seven or more batters in five of his six starts on the year
-- Redshirt senior Ethan Cady is running right along Rosier for a potential SoCon Player of the Year candidacy. The outfielder/first baseman leads the conference with 10 home runs and 31 RBI, sitting third and sixth in the country for those two categories. He's averaging .368 at the plate with 32 hits this year and is slugging a SoCon best .828. He has a knock in each of his last 19 games and has reached first in all 23 of the Bucs' contests

SERIES HISTORY
-- UNCG is 32-15 against ETSU all-time, winning 11 of their last 14 meetings
-- The Spartans have not dropped a series to the Bucs since ETSU rejoined the SoCon in 2014. The last time the Bucs grabbed a series win against UNCG was back in 2005, the last year of their first stint in the Southern Conference, joining the ASUN the following year

#letsgoG