GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team travels to take on the East Tennessee State (ETSU) Buccaneers to resume play in The Southern Conference (SoCon) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Thomas Stadium in Johnson City, Tennessee.
 

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPARTANS

• UNCG fell 9-6 in a road game on Tuesday at NC State.
• The Spartans grabbed the game's first lead with a five-run second inning that was highlighted with Tyler Steele hitting a three-run home run.
• NC State then piled on seven unanswered runs between the bottom of the second and seventh innings to take a 7-5 lead.
• UNCG scored one run in the eighth to cut the deficit to one, 7-6, with an RBI groundout from Luke Jenkins.
• However, the Wolfpack tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to eventually win by a 9-6 margin.
• Jenkins finished with two RBI.
• Parker Wight led UNCG with two hits.
• Perez drew a pair of walks and was hit by a pitch.
• Six different Spartans scored a run.
• Jake Colucci, Rob Ready, Danny Thompson Jr. and Mayson Dear all made appearances on the mound for UNCG.
• UNCG turned the game's only double play.
• The Spartans finished with more stolen bases by a 4-2 margin.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

• The Spartans own an overall record of 12-16 with a 2-1 mark in the SoCon for a three-way tie at first with ETSU and Wofford at the top of the league standings.
• In the Spartans' first SoCon series at VMI, UNCG won 9-7 on March 28, 13-12 on March 29 and lost the finale 8-6 on March 30 at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington, Virginia.
• UNCG stands tied for 15th in the country with three shutouts this season, 23rd in walks allowed per nine innings (3.49) and 23rd in strikeout-to-walk-ratio (2.70).
• Junior right-hander Jay Miller leads the Spartans in total strikeouts with 46, which ranks 53rd nationally.
• Senior right-handed pitcher Sam Murchison is second on the team with 41 punchouts while sophomore southpaw Noah Chapman is third on the Spartans with 39 strikeouts.
• Thompson Jr. ranks 38th in the nation with four saves this season.
• Murchison leads UNCG in wins with a 4-1 record, which, based on victories, stands 48th in NCAA Division I.
• The Spartans matched a season-high for runs (13) last Saturday at VMI in the 13-12 victory over the Keydets. UNCG previously plated 13 runs on March 2 vs. Pitt in a 13-11 win at home.
• Junior infielder Jeremy Wolf leads the Spartans with a .363 (37-for-102) batting average and 10 doubles this season. He also leads the team with 21 runs scored.
• Wight leads UNCG with six home runs and 17 RBI after hitting four homers last week against New Mexico State and VMI. He is the only Spartan to play in all 28 games this season.
• Junior outfielder Luke Holland is second on the team with four home runs and 16 RBI.
• UNCG faced four consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponents earlier in the season, amounting to eight-straight games from Feb. 18-March 4. The Spartans went 3-5 during the stretch.
• The Spartans opened the eight straight games against ACC foes with an upset over then-No. 13 Wake Forest at home, 4-0, on Feb. 18.
• The Spartans were voted to finish first in the 2025 SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Ready was named one of two SoCon Preseason Pitchers of the Year by the league. The other was Michael Harpster of ETSU.
• In addition, a total of six Spartans were recognized on Preseason All-SoCon Teams. They were Ready (SP), Trey Truitt (DH), Holland (OF) and Grant Aycock (RP), who were named to the first team, while Hunter Shuey (SP) and Thompson Jr. (RP) rounded out the list on the second team.
• Chapman is back as well after being named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team in 2024.
• The Spartans are coming off a historic season where they posted an overall record of 33-21, marking their 19th 30-win campaign in the program's 34-season history.
• UNCG captured its third SoCon Regular Season Championship behind a conference record of 15-6 in 2024.
• Entering the SoCon Tournament as the top seed for the first time since 2018, UNCG ended the 2024 campaign with losses to Wofford, 5-2, and ETSU, 10-7, at Fluor Field in Greenville, South Carolina.
• UNCG led the SoCon a season ago in ERA (5.19), fewest runs allowed (297) and lowest opponent batting average (.267).
• The Spartans' baseball roster is made up of 38 student-athletes, including 23 returners, eight newcomers and seven transfers.
• Head Coach Cody Ellis is in his second year at the helm of the UNCG baseball program after leading the Spartans last season, who were projected to finish sixth in the conference, to a regular season championship.
• He was named the 2024 SoCon Coach of the Year and had an interim tag removed following the season on May 28.
• Ellis has been at UNCG since he was first hired as assistant coach in the fall of 2022, leading the charge in recruiting and as the outfield coach before being promoted to interim head coach in January 2024 and head coach in May 2024.

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS

• ETSU owns an overall record of 21-7 with a 2-1 start in the SoCon for a tie of first after taking two out of three games while hosting Samford, 6-1, 10-3 and 7-13, from March 21-23.
• The Buccaneers are coming off a 10-8 setback hosting Radford on Wednesday night in Johnson City.
• ETSU is led offensively by Cooper Torres, who leads the team with 41 hits, 37 RBI and 88 total bases. He ranks second on the team also in batting average (.366) and home runs (13).
• Grant Gallagher leads the Bucs with 15 homers and 36 runs this season.
• Cody Miller has a slight edge over Torres to lead the Bucs in batting average at a .367 (40-for-109) clip.
• Jace Hyde, who has the most innings pitched for ETSU this season, leads the team with a 4-0 record. He owns a 4.46 ERA with a .287 opponent batting average.
• Brady Frederick leads the Buccaneers with a 2.12 ERA and .176 opponent average so far in 29.2 innings pitched.
• Named a SoCon Preseason Co-Pitcher of the Year alongside UNCG's Ready, Harpster owns a 4.50 ERA and .220 opponent average so far in 32.0 innings pitched.
• ETSU was voted to finish in a tie for fourth with Mercer while receiving one first-place vote in the 2025 SoCon Baseball Preseason Poll.
• In addition to Harpster (SP), JD Yakubnis (C) and Miller (3B) earned spots on the preseason first team. Blake Jacklin (OF), Jamie Palmese (OF) and Will Smoot (DH) were recognized on the second team.
• Head coach of the Buccaneers, Joe Pennucci, is in his eighth season at the helm of ETSU's baseball program. He owns a career record of 211-151 (.582) at ETSU.

SERIES HISTORY VS. ETSU
The Spartans are 42-22 in the all-time series against the Buccaneers. Last year's regular season series saw UNCG prevail two games to one from March 28-30 before a postseason meeting went the way of ETSU on May 24.

The Spartans won the first two games, 10-8 and 12-9, before dropping the finale, 4-3. UNCG crossed paths with ETSU again during the SoCon Tournament, where the Buccaneers prevailed, 10-7, to put a cap on the Spartans' season.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans will conclude their eight-game road swing taking on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. at David F. Couch Ballpark.

UNCG will return home next weekend to host Wofford for its first SoCon series at home from Friday to Sunday at UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro.