What: Spiro Classic
Who: Rider (0-0, 0-0 MAAC) & George Washington (1-3, 0-0 A10)
When: Friday, February 18 – Sunday, February 20
Where: Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Softball Stadium
Spiro Classic Tournament Central

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team returns to its home stadium this weekend for the Spartans' first of three home tournaments this season. UNCG starts the tournament hosting Rider on Friday, February 18 at 4:00 p.m.

Fans are permitted to bring in food and drinks.

The Spartans will make their first appearance on their home diamond since May 15, 2021 when they won the programs' second Southern Conference Tournament Championship.

This tournament will also begin a span of 37-straight games being played in North Carolina.
 
PRESEASON PRESENTS
UNCG was chosen as the Southern Conference (SoCon) favorite in the preseason poll for the second-straight season.

Graduate student Makenna Matthijs was voted Preseason Player of the Year, as well as to the first team as an outfielder.
 
Junior Morgan Scott was selected as Preseason Pitcher of the Year, as well as to the first team.
 
Senior catcher Delaney Cumbie and junior infielder Maycin Brown were also tabbed on the first team.
 
Sophomore infielder Brooklynn Maxwell was voted to the second team.

FRESH FACES
Head Coach Janelle Breneman welcomed five additions to the 2022 Blue & Gold squad, including two pitchers, two infielders, and an outfielder.
The pitchers: Reese Byrd (Suffolk, Va.) and Graysen Hunter (Williamston, S.C.)
The infielders: Jessie Shipley (Sugar Land, Texas) and Meredith Harwood (Stanfield, N.C.)
The outfielder: Grace Loftin (Conover, N.C.)
 
Get to know Hunter, Byrd, and Loftin
Get to know Shipley and Harwood
 
DEPTH IN RETURNERS
Fourteen Spartans are listed on the roster from last year's team, including eight that started in 20 or more of the 51 games played in 2021.
 
Last season the Spartans saw five players bat above .300. Three of the five are returning, including offensive leader Matthijs who averaged .355 at the plate and was third in the SoCon. The two others are: Brown (.352) and Maxwell (.301).
 
Matthijs, Scott, Cumbie, and Brown also return as UNCG had six ranked in the top 100 in individual stat categories. Scott was named SoCon Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, as well as selected to the All-SoCon first team in 2021.
 
SPARTANS' LAST TIME OUT

• UNCG competed in the Felsberg Invitational, hosted by FIU, where the Spartans went 1-3.
• On day two, UNCG defeated Maryland 6-5 in 10 innings for its first win of the season.
• Brown leads the way for the Spartans with a .462 batting average (6-for-13) and three doubles.
• Batten totaled five RBI last weekend, including hitting three home runs in as many games.
• Hannah Kincer and Makenna Matthijs also hit one out of the park.
• Four other Spartans tallied a double last weekend: Kincer, Batten, Brooklynn Maxwell, and Jessie Shipley.
• Scott threw 18.0 innings for the Spartans with a 3.11 ERA. She earned the win against the Terps and struck out 11 batters in the three appearances she made.

SCOUTING RIDER

• The Broncs were picked to finish eighth in the MAAC Preseason Poll and will play in their season opener on Friday.
• Elena Gonzalez and Lani Moreno were picked to the Preseason All-MAAC Team.
• Gonzalez earned All-Region First Team honors last season, becoming the Broncs' first All-Region selection since 2004.
• Gonzalez was a versatile and reliable performer in her first full season with the Broncs in 2021, hitting .367 with a team-best three home runs and 33 RBI's. Her 33 RBI's tied for the most in the MAAC, while her 44 hits ranked second. She scored 26 runs, good for second on the team and sixth in the conference, while her .367 batting average also ranked sixth.
• Moreno hit a team-best .415 last season, good for second in the MAAC. Her 37 hits ranked seventh in the league, while her .574 slugging percentage ranked seventh and her .451 on-base percentage was eighth. Her nine doubles tied for most on the team and were seventh in the league.
• Rider concluded the 2021 season with a 17-20 overall mark and 16-18 in MAAC competition.
• In an expanded eight-team field last year, Rider made its first MAAC Championship appearance since 2006 and just the fourth for the program in 24 years in the league.
• Seventh-seeded Rider won its first game of a three-game series at second-seeded Canisius and pushed the Griffs to the brink, leading 5-1 after four innings in the decisive third game, before falling, 7-5.

HISTORY VS. RIDER

• The Spartans are 4-0 against the Broncs.
• UNCG took two games in 2017 in the Battle at the Beach in Conway, S.C. over Rider with scores of 6-0 (2/18) and 19-1 in five innings (2/17).

 
SCOUTING GEORGE WASHINGTON

• George Washington opened the 2022 season at the Gamecock Invitational where the Colonials went 1-3.
• The lone win was a 4-1 victory over Lipscomb.
• Following the invitational, the Colonials are led by Hannah Eslick who averaged .364 at the plate, swinging 4-for-11 with one run scored, one double and two RBI.
• Alexa Williams leads GW with four RBI as she is second on the team with a .273 batting average.
• Sierra Lange totaled 14.2 innings in the circle with a 3.34 ERA. She made three starts giving up 15 hits and striking out 17.
• The Colonials were tabbed as the favorite to repeat as the Atlantic 10 champion in the 2022 preseason poll.
• Reigning A-10 Pitcher of the Year Lange and three-time All-Conference pick Alessandra Ponce lead the way for a group that features 16 returners, including five who made at least 45 starts last spring.
• A trio of newcomers join the mix, headlined by pitcher Maddy Dwyer, a graduate student from Stanford.
• First-year head coach Chrissy Schoonmaker will take over this season.
• In the 2021 season, George Washington compiled a 37-11 overall mark and a 23-1 conference record.

HISTORY VS. GEORGE WASHINGTON

• The Spartans are 7-4 over the Colonials.  
• George Washington was victorious against UNCG in the last meeting on March 3, 2019 with a 4-3 win in nine innings at the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C.