GREENSBORO, N.C. - Runs weren't hard to come by in UNCG baseball's series opener against Western Carolina, as two of the hottest hitting teams in the SoCon met in UNCG Baseball Stadium on Friday. The Spartans and Catamounts combined for seven home runs on the day, while the home team's 19 hits lifted UNCG to a 17-8 win to extend the program's current winning streak to six. Eight of the Spartans' starting nine earned hits over the course of the afternoon, led by a four-knock night from leadoff man Corey Rosier who drove in six runs while going a triple shy of the cycle. UNCG has hit better than any team in the SoCon over the past 10 days, averaging .375 as a team since the start of its winning streak.

The Spartans opened the contest by scoring runs in each of the first four innings, including a five-run effort in the third.

A pair of home runs gave the Catamounts the lead in the first, but four UNCG singles in the bottom half tied things at two apiece. Both teams traded runs in the second as WCU delivered its third long ball of the night while Greg Hardison's sac fly leveled things once again.

Western Carolina took a lead for the third time in inning number three but that top half would be the last time the visitors held the advantage.

Already singling in the first, Hogan Windish led off the frame with his first of three hit by pitches in the game, with Zack Budzik's second hit of the night putting a pair on for right fielder Pres Cavenaugh. The redshirt-freshman responded to the RBI opportunity with his sixth home run of the year, riding a windstream out to right field. 

Cavenaugh's three-run bomb was followed by a Dallas Callahan single and a Bradley Bott double, before Rosier's second hit of the night cleared the bases to make it 8-4 before the start of the fourth. 

UNCG scored for a fourth straight inning on a Budzik sac fly, however back-to-back one-run frames from the visitors put the Catamounts back within three.

Budzik drove in his third RBI on yet another sac fly, after following singles from Windish and Sam Koruschak with a flyout to right in the sixth. Cavenaugh drove in his fourth RBI as well while driving a ball all the way to the warning track in dead center. While the Catamount center fielder was able to secure the out, some heads up baserunning from Koruschak scored the third baseman all the way from second for an 11-6 score. 

WCU continued to try and make a comeback but the UNCG hitters weren't having it, answering the Catamounts two seventh inning runs with a pair of their own. Bott's single to leadoff the frame was his third hit of the night, as the center fielder finished 3-for-3 in his first-ever start in a Spartan uniform. While the redshirt-freshman was thrown out in the following at bat, a Hardison walk set the stage for a Josh Madole home run, whose two-run shot was his fifth homer of the year and his third in the Spartans' current winning streak.

Reliever Austin Parsley shutdown the Catamount offense over the final two innings to earn his sixth win of 2021, while the Spartans added further run insurance in the bottom of the eighth. 

A Budzik triple, a Callahan walk and a Bott hit by pitch loaded the bases for Rosier, who stepped into the box already sporting three hits on the night. Getting the green light on a 3-1 count the Spartan leadoff man delivered a no-doubter to right field for his team's third grand slam of the season, while securing the 17-8 win for the home team.

>>> Averaging .369 on the year, Rosier is currently on a six-game hitting streak, going 14-for-26 (.538) over the Spartans' winning streak. The outfielder started the night 3-for-3 with his first two singles, and a double, while facing just four pitches in his first three at bats. His effort against the Catamounts put him just a triple shy of the cycle for a second time this season, while his 10th homer of the year stands as a team best. Rosier's six RBI against WCU tie a career-high, and is the most any UNCG batter has had this year
>>> While Rosier's performance took the main stage, Bradley Bott and Zack Budzik went 3-for-4 and 3-for-3 respectively, while Hogan Windish was 2-for-2 with three hit by pitches
>>> UNCG's 19 hits are the most the side has had against a SoCon opponent this season, and trail only the 22 they had against Elon earlier in the year. The Spartans' 17 runs were also the most runs they've scored in conference play since plating 18 against Furman in 2016, and are six-shy of the season-high of 23 they scored against A&T back in March

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