GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG baseball collected its third straight SoCon win on Friday night, taking a one-game advantage in this weekend's home series against ETSU with a 9-2 win. Starting right-hander Austin Koehn held the Bucs to a single run over seven innings of work, while Corey Rosier and Pres Cavenaugh both had big nights at the plate. Rosier came a triple shy of the cycle with his three-hit performance, while Cavenaugh did not create an out in all five of his plate appearances. 

ETSU's marker in the first inning would be the only one to come across against Koehn on Friday, as the visiting Bucs picked up the first run of the afternoon on a pair of hits and an RBI groundout. Koehn went on to toss six straight scoreless frames in his longest start of the season, spraying six Buccaneer hits over 7.0 IP with three walks surrendered. 

The right hander would get some early run support from his teammates, with the Spartan offense plating three runs in the bottom half of the first. Rosier started his three-hit night with a chopper up the middle, giving the home team their first base runner of the night after a single at bat. A dropped fly ball and a hit by pitch in the following two plate appearances set up a bases loaded situation for Hogan Windish, whose five-pitch walk drove in the tying run.

Cavenaugh doubled the Spartans run total with a high fly ball that landed just inside fair territory, while Zack Budzik made it a 3-1 game on a sac fly to left.

Koehn gave up three hits and a walk in the next three innings, but continued to keep the visitors off the board as all ETSU base runners were left stranded. 

The Spartans continued to expand their lead in the bottom half of the fourth. With two outs already on the board, Daniel Cerda struck out swinging but hustled down the first base line on a wild pitch. Cerda's pace down the line forced a poor throw from the Bucs' catcher that gave UNCG an extra out in the inning. That mistake proved to be costly as Corey Rosier tallied his second hit on a no-doubter shot to right field. The center fielder's homer went down as his sixth of the year, giving the Spartans a 5-1 lead, and handing Rosier his 13th multi-hit performance of 2021. 

UNCG added another two runs in the fifth. Windish wore a pitch for a second time that afternoon, followed by Cavenaugh's second straight walk, before Zack Budzik laced a ball by the ETSU third baseman for his second RBI.

Back-to-back walks from Spencer Smith and Robbie O'Neal tacked on another run for the Spartans, making it 7-1.

Koehn's final frame of the afternoon was a decisive one, as the righty struck out the side in the seventh, leaving the door open for UNCG to add some insurance in the bottom half. After Cerda reached first on another two-out plate appearance, he was driven in yet again by Rosier whose double through the middle put him within a triple of completing the cycle.

The opportunity to complete that cycle never came however, as Rosier went without another AB. Both sides traded shots in the eighth, with the Bucs scoring an unearned marker and the Spartans coming across on a double play ball. 

Koehn would grab the win in a 9-2 final, securing his fourth quality start of the year, as the Spartans moved even with ETSU on a 3-4 record in SoCon play.

>>> Rosier went 3-for-5 at the plate while driving in three runs, coming a triple shy of the cycle. He's driven in six runs over his last four games in conference play, hitting .400 against SoCon pitchers in 2021
>>> Koehn struck out seven batters over the course of the afternoon, one shy of the career-high he set against High Point earlier in the season
>>> Cavenaugh did not record an out against the Buccaneers, going 2-for-2 at the plate and drawing three walks. He leads the Spartans with 24 bases on balls, recording six over his last four appearances and 12 in his last eight
>>> Hogan Windish touched first four times on the night with two walks and two hit by pitches

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