UNCG Baseball to Conclude Regular Season Hosting USC Upstate
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team concludes the regular season hosting a non-conference series against USC Upstate on Thursday, May 16 to Saturday, May 18 at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
UNCG (15-6 SoCon) currently stands at second in the conference behind Samford (13-5 SoCon). Having completed all its league games, UNCG is dependent on Wofford avoiding a sweep against Samford to claim the top spot in the SoCon Tournament. UNCG can win the regular season title outright if Wofford wins the series against Samford.
Game One Information
When: Thursday, May 16 | 6:00 p.m.
Where: UNCG Baseball Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.
Live Stats | ESPN+
Game Two Information
When: Friday, May 17 | 6:00 p.m.
Where: UNCG Baseball Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.
Live Stats | ESPN+
Senior Day (Recognition Half Hour Before First Pitch)
Game Three Information
When: Saturday, May 18 | 2:00 p.m.
Where: UNCG Baseball Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.
Live Stats | ESPN+
LAST TIME OUT FOR UNCG
Before having its last game rained out, which would have been against North Carolina A&T on Tuesday night, UNCG won a three-game series in The Southern Conference (SoCon) against Samford, two games to one.
The Spartans bested Samford, 8-4, on Friday,run-ruled the Bulldogs, 14-4, in eight innings on Saturday and won in walk-off fashion, 6-4, in Sunday’s series finale.
Jake Ogden pulled a three-run home run to left for the walk-off win on Sunday.
Aidan Brewer led UNCG’s offense while batting .500 (6-for-12) with a team-leading four RBI.
Mitchell Smith paced the Spartans with five runs scored in the series and an .800 slugging percentage after hitting a home run on Sunday.
Julien Peissel (3-2) earned the win on the mound on Saturday before Grant Aycock (3-0) followed suit on Sunday.
Aycock struck out 11 Bulldogs’ hitters over the weekend in 6.1 innings of relief work for the Spartans.
SCOUTING THE UNCG SPARTANS
UNCG owns an overall record of 31-18 and finished competing in the SoCon over the weekend with a 15-6 record.
The Spartans appeared at No. 23 in this week’s 11Point7 College Baseball Mid-Major Power Rankings.
After plating 14 runs on Saturday vs. Samford, the Spartans have now scored 10 or more runs 17 times this season. When doing so, UNCG is undefeated this season with a 17-0 record.
In April, UNCG totaled 154 runs while only allowing 86.
As a team, UNCG is ranked top-30 nationally in three categories, including 13th in triples (19), 28th in stolen bases (92) and 30th in sacrifice bunts (35).
Caleb Cozart ranks among the best in the country in several offensive categories, including home runs (22, 13th in NCAA), HR per game (0.46, 14th in NCAA), RBI (72, 10th in NCAA), RBI per game (1.50, 8th in NCAA) and slugging percentage (.795, 22nd in NCAA). His 72 RBI this season has him one shy of tying UNCG’s single-season record of 73 set by Kennedy Jones during the 2022 season.
Cozart was named the SoCon Player of the Week for the second time this season on April 29 after batting 6-for-9 (.667) in four games and hitting three home runs on, which included the first one that broke UNCG’s single-season record for homers on April 24 vs. High Point. He was previously named the SoCon and Perfect Game Player of the Week after hitting four home runs in the season-opening series against Fairfield (Feb. 16-18).
Aidan Brewer was named to the 2024 Brooks Wallace Award Watch List on April 29, a list of the country’s top 100 all-around shortstops.
Ready was named the SoCon Pitcher of the Week after the team’s SoCon opening series win against Mercer (March 22-24) when he threw for a complete game with a career-high nine strikeouts in game two against the Bears.
Peissel was selected as the SoCon Pitcher of the Week after starting on the mound in UNCG’s win over No. 1 Wake Forest (Feb. 20). Peissel is leading the team with 52 strikeouts.
UNCG was tabbed to finish sixth in the 2024 SoCon Preseason Coaches’ Poll after finishing the 2023 season with a 25-34 overall record and a 9-12 mark in SoCon play.
Ready was named to the Preseason All-SoCon Second Team.
UNCG concluded last season in the semifinal round of the SoCon Tournament, falling to No. 1 Samford, 9-5.
The Spartans have 22 newcomers for the 2024 season: 10 transfers and 12 freshmen.
Eighteen Spartans have returned from last season for UNCG.
SCOUTING THE USC UPSTATE SPARTANS
USC Upstate sports an overall mark of 33-20 with a 16-8 conference record for third in the Big South.
The Spartans are also within reach of the top spot in their conference with no league games left to play. However, they will need High Point and Presbyterian to lose their respective series this weekend against Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville.
In its last action, USC Upstate prevailed in a midweek non-conference test at Georgia State, 13-6, on Tuesday night.
The Spartans are led offensively by Koby Kropf, who is batting .355 (71-for-200) and leading the team in home runs (20) and slugging percentage (.740).
Jace Rinehart paces USC Upstate in batting average (.368), hits (84), doubles (20) and total bases (155).
Grant Sherrod owns a .333 batting average (74-for-222) and leads the team in RBI (74) as well as OPS (1.181).
When it comes to pitching, Henry Proger is the best arm on USC Upstate’s roster in terms of ERA (3.91). In 69.0 innings pitched this season, he owns a team-best 55 strikeouts with 22 walks allowed.
Noah Sullivan leads the Spartans with an 8-2 record, a .267 opponent batting average and 1.30 WHIP.
For the first time, USC Upstate was voted as the favorite to win the Big South in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll.
Daniel Gernon (OF), Sherrod (INF), Rinehart (DH), Sullivan (UTL), Proger (SP), Mathieu Curtis (SP) and Jake Cubbler (RP) were each named to the Big South Preseason All-Conference Team.
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend will mark the first-ever meeting between the two Spartans squads.
PURCHASE UNCG GEAR
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UP NEXT
UNCG will await the outcome of the series between Samford and Wofford this weekend to determine its seed for the SoCon Tournament, which begins Wednesday, May 22 and ends Sunday, May 26 in Greenville, S.C.
The Spartans will either be a first or second seed in the SoCon Tournament. With that in mind, UNCG will play its first game at the tournament on Friday, May 24 as the one-seed in Game Five at 9 a.m. or as the two-seed in Game Six at 12:30 p.m. To view the SoCon Tournament schedule, click HERE.
Courtesy of Connor Wachtel
Strategic Communications Coordinator
UNC Greensboro