UNCG Baseball Concludes Season Falling to No. 1 Samford in SoCon Semifinal
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team finished the season against number-one-seeded Samford in the Southern Conference (SoCon) Tournament, presented by Holston Gases on Saturday morning at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Spartans, the defending SoCon Tournament Champions, fell to the 2023 SoCon Regular Season Champions after making another historic run in postseason mimicking their time in the Tournament last year.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Caleb Cozart started on the mound for the Spartans and went 5.0 innings. The junior kept the Bulldogs scoreless for four innings, while Samford’s Will Lynch also threw four scoreless innings against the Spartans.
With Kennedy Jones and Bradley Bott on base in the top of the fifth, Mitchell Smith cleared the bases with a triple to right field for a 2-0 lead.
Samford answered with two runs to tie the game in the bottom of the frame on three hits.
Samford broke open the game in the bottom of the sixth with five runs off four hits for a 7-2 lead. The Bulldogs’ defense fended off the Spartans for three innings, as Samford scored another two runs in the bottom of the eighth for a 9-2 advantage.
UNCG rallied in top of the ninth, chipping away at the deficit with three runs on three hits, 9-5, before the Bulldogs claimed victory retiring the side with a fly out.
NOTES
Zack Budzik, Caleb Cozart, and Bott all had two hits at the plate with Jones having one hit. Budzik and Bott each had a stolen base.
The 2023 season came to a close as the Spartans finished 25-34 overall and 9-12 in the SoCon. Three from UNCG were voted to All-Conference Teams, including sophomore Jones being selected to the Coaches and Media second teams. Luke Thomas and Julien Peissel were voted to the SoCon All-Freshman Team. Jones and Mitchell Smith were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.
Courtesy of Kelly Couse
Strategic Communications Coordinator
UNC Greensboro