GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team made its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance last year after another impressive season of bypassing the 30-wins mark and winning its sixth Southern Conference Tournament title.
With the NCAA appearance, the Spartans were selected to play in the Athens Regional with a first-round opponent of then-ranked No. 13 Duke. This was the first official interaction between the two teams.
The Blue Devils earned the 2-0 shutout win in their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Spartans, this time, will be in the comfort of their own stadium, where they have crushed 46 of their 74 homers this season and hold a home record of 17-3. We should probably mention they are second in the nation in total home runs (74) and third in home runs per game (2.11).
The Blue Devils are ranked No. 8 in the D1softball.com Top 25 poll, No. 9 in the Softball America poll, No. 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25, and No. 13 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches' Poll.
UNCG is on a nine-game win streak, while Duke is on a five-game win streak.
Who: Duke (28-5, 11-2 ACC)
Where: Greensboro, N.C. | UNCG Softball Stadium
When: Wednesday, April 6 | 6:00 p.m.
Tickets: Free Admission
Watch (ESPN+) |
Live Stats
NATIONAL RANKINGS
UNCG is …
- 55th in the sixth NCAA Division I Ratings Power Index (RPI).
- second in home runs (74)
- third in home runs per game (2.11)
- 10th in slugging percentage (0.580)
- 23rd in scoring per game (6.40)
- 39th in WL percentage (0.714)
- 45th in doubles (48)
Individuals...
#1 IN SOCON RANKINGS
- Batting average (.288)
- Slugging percentage (.581)
- On-base percentage (.371)
- Runs scored (224)
- Hits (276)
- RBI (210)
- Home runs (74)
- Total bases (556)
- Total plate appearances (1107)
- At bats (957)
- Hit-by-pitch (36)
- Opposing batting average (.235)
- Innings pitched (237.0)
- Batters struck out (207)
- Batters struck out looking (61)
- Wins (25)
- Putouts (711)
SOCON SUPREMACY
UNCG has won 11-straight regular-season games against SoCon opponents dating back to the 2021 season.
UNCG has won 14-straight overall games against conference foes, including post-season games.
OUT OF THE PARK
The Spartans have recorded at least one home run in 29 games this season.
In a 19-1 domination over Mercer on Sunday, March 27, the Spartans slugged eight home runs for the most home runs in a game in head coach
Janelle Breneman's era and to stats dating back to 2007.
Three of the eight came from
Grace Loftin. This was the fourth time in program history that a Spartan has hit three home runs in a game.
UNCG has had 21 games with two or more home runs. The Spartans have had four games with three home runs. There have been four games with four home runs, two games with five home runs, and one game with a season-best eight homers.
Jordan Gontram leads the way with 11 home runs, while
Grace Loftin,
Blayke Batten,
Makenna Matthijs, and
Delaney Cumbie are second with nine homers.
Samantha Lagrama has hit eight home runs, while
Maycin Brown has crushed seven and
Jessie Shipley has blasted six each.
Brooklynn Maxwell and
Hannah Kincer round out the home run brigade with four and three, respectively.
AWARDS ON AWARDS
Junior
Morgan Scott tallied her third
SoCon Pitcher of the Week honor after an impressive week of a 0.33 ERA.
Junior
Maycin Brown was named
SoCon Player of the Week and
Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week most recently.
Scott earned her second
SoCon Pitcher of the Week honor this week.
Freshman
Grace Loftin was named
SoCon Player of the Week and
D1 Softball Freshman of the Week on March 21.
Junior
Maycin Brown was tabbed
SoCon Player of the Month for February.
Scott was selected
SoCon Pitcher of the Week on March 14.
Senior
Delaney Cumbie was tabbed
SoCon Player of the Week on March 7 after helping UNCG to a 3-2 week.
Junior
Blayke Batten led the way for the Spartans during their five-game week. She earned UNCG's second
Player of the Week award on Feb. 28.
Graduate student
Jordan Gontram earned the first
SoCon Player of the Week award for the Spartans announced on Feb. 21.
SPARTANS' LAST TIME OUT
- UNCG swept their second SoCon opponent this past weekend taking 3-0, 7-2, and 9-2 victories over Western Carolina in Cullowhee.
- The Spartans crushed 10 home runs in three games.
- 17 of the 19 runs this weekend were scored off homers.
- Scott pitched UNCG's third shutout of the season.
SCOUTING DUKE
- Duke was picked fourth in the ACC preseason coaches' poll.
- Jameson Kavel and Deja Davis were named to the All-ACC Preseason Team.
- The Blue Devils most recently swept their third ACC opponent in Boston College defeating them in three five-inning games.
- Duke has won the last four games in five innings, including a game at East Carolina.
- Kavel and Kristina Foreman lead the team with 10 homers each.
- Four from Duke have tallied 20 or more RBI: Kavel (32), Ana Gold (29), Rachel Crabtree (28), and Foreman (23).
- Kavel also leads the team with a .423 batting average, while nine swinging .300 and over.
- Peyton St. George leads the pitching staff, tossing 90.0 innings with a 15-2 record, and is second with a 1.71 ERA.
- Jala Wright has a 1.48 ERA to lead the team, throwing 52.0 innings with a 6-1 record.
DUKE IN THE RANKINGS
- The Blue Devils are ninth in Division I Ratings Power Rankings.
- 5th in slugging percentage (0.626)
- 5th in scoring (7.18)
- 7th in WL percentage (0.848)
- 8th in on-base percentage (0.425)
- 9th in home runs per game (1.73)
- 12th in batting average (0.332)
- 12th in doubles (57)
- 12th in ERA (1.82)
- 13th in doubles per game (1.73)
- 22nd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.85)
- 23rd in fielding percentage (0.974)
HISTORY VS. DUKE
- Duke leads the series 1-0.
- The two teams met in the NCAA first round last year in the Athens Regional on May 21, 2021.
- The then ranked No. 13 Duke shut out the Spartans 2-0.
- Maxwell went 2-for-3, while Matthijs and Brown went 1-for-3 each totaling the four hits for the Spartans.
- Scott struck out six batters.
