BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UNCG baseball's bid for the postseason took a hit on Saturday, as the Spartans dropped an 8-4 decision in a series finale against Samford. UNCG had won 10 of its last 12 games prior to arriving in Birmingham, but took its first series loss in the past month to the hosting Bulldogs. 

Both starters were stellar in the opening four innings. Neither side accrued more than a single hit before the start of the fifth, while Spartan righty Alex Hoppe retired six of his first 12 outs of the matchup on strikeouts. After giving up a single to his second batter faced, Hoppe retired the next nine Samford hitters in order. 

The home team did load the bases on three walks drawn in the fifth, but UNCG's starter stranded the lot with a pair of Ks, giving his side the opportunity to take the first lead of the afternoon. 

The Spartans rallied with two outs in the fifth, as catcher Dallas Callahan began the scoring on a solo home run to right. The long ball was Callahan's first in a Spartan uniform, after transferring from Brunswick Community College in the offseason, recording his team's fifth homer against the Bulldogs on the weekend. 

Callahan's knock preceded back-to-back singles from Corey Rosier and Greg Hardison, who moved into scoring position after Josh Madole loaded things up on a walk. Hogan Windish cleared the bases on his 10th double of 2021, picking up what ended up being a game-high three RBI in the process. 

The Spartans' advantage marked the third consecutive time they grabbed the early lead against Samford, but similar to those two previous contests, the Bulldogs found a way to erase that early UNCG lead. 

Samford finally got to Hoppe in the bottom half of the fifth, scoring two on a pair of hits, a walk and two wild pitches. While the Spartans maintained a two-run lead, the Bulldogs went on to score in the following two innings as well, eventually exploding for five in the seventh. Madole registered his second hit of the day during the eighth but that's all that the Spartans gained offensively through their final four offensive frames, outside of a Bulldog defensive error that allowed Zack Budzik to reach first. 

The final read 8-4 in favor of the home team by the end of the evening, handing the Spartans their first SoCon series loss since mid-April. 

At 11-16 in conference play, the Spartans' best potential SoCon record for 2021 would be 14-16, requiring they deliver a sweep of VMI to close the regular season.

>>> Five of the Spartans' six hits were recorded by the first four batters in the UNCG lineup, led by Madole's two singles
>>> Rosier's single extended his hitting streak to six straight games. The outfielder recorded two home runs and six RBI over the weekend against Samford, while crossing home plate four times
>>> Greg Hardison is on his own six-game hitting streak, driving in nine runs on four doubles, a home run and five singles while averaging .417 in that span

UNCG is currently chasing Western Carolina for the final spot in this year's conference tournament.

At the publication of this article, the Catamounts were losing game two of a series against Wofford. Provided that WCU takes that loss and UNCG completes the sweep of the Keydets next week, the Spartans would still need the Catamounts to drop three of their final four games in order to hop their fellow SoCon member in the standings. 

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