GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team makes its way to Macon, Georgia, this weekend to face the Mercer Bears for a weekend series in The Southern Conference (SoCon) at OrthoGeorgia Park on Friday at 6:00 p.m., Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

UNCG owns an overall record of 18-21 with a 7-2 mark in the SoCon while Mercer carries a 26-17 mark with a 6-6 record in the league. The Spartans sit atop the conference standings while the Bears are currently alone at fourth.
 

LAST WEEK FOR THE SPARTANS

• Before UNCG's midweek against Campbell was rained out, the Spartans fell two games to one in a non-conference weekend series against USC Upstate in Spartanburg, South Carolina, from Thursday to Saturday.
• The Spartans fell 10-5 in game one of the series on Thursday night before tying Friday night's game in the ninth inning and winning 4-3 in 15 innings. USC Upstate took the series on Saturday with an 18-13 come-from-behind victory over UNCG.
• Prior to the series at USC Upstate, UNCG faced Elon on the road last Tuesday, falling 4-0 at Latham Park.
• Sophomore Brantley Truitt led the Spartans offensively last week, batting .500 (10-for-20) with two doubles and three RBI.
• Junior Branton Jernigan had the clutch hit, a pinch-hit triple on Friday night to tie it in the ninth and force extras by scoring Luke Jenkins from first.
• Sophomore catcher Jacob Dilley homered twice on Saturday. He led the team with two home runs and 13 total bases last week.
• Junior infielder Jeremy Wolf paced the team with five RBI last week.
• Senior right-handed pitcher Danny Thompson Jr. got UNCG out of a jam in the seventh inning of Saturday's game and pitched through the 13th inning for a career-high 6.1 innings pitched. He allowed just two hits, one run, one walk and struck out nine.
• Thompson Jr. pitched in relief for senior Sam Murchison, who went 6.2 innings with seven hits, two runs, two walks and eight strikeouts.

SCOUTING UNCG

• The Spartans own an overall record of 18-21 with a 7-2 mark in the SoCon for first in the league standings.
• UNCG is off to a solid start in the SoCon, clinching back-to-back series wins in the league while on the road at VMI and ETSU before sweeping a series against Wofford two weekends ago at home.
• UNCG stands at 35th in the country with three shutouts this season, 32nd in strikeout-to-walk-ratio (2.52), 33rd in walks allowed per nine innings (3.67) and 51st in sacrifice bunts (24).
• A threat to steal, UNCG also ranks 55th nationally in stolen bases (73) and stolen bases per game (1.87).
• Jay Miller, Murchison and Thompson Jr. lead the Spartans in total strikeouts with 60, which ranks second in the SoCon and 77th nationally.
• Thompson Jr. also ranks 88th in the nation with four saves this season.
• Sophomore southpaw Noah Chapman is fourth on the Spartans with 53 strikeouts.
• Murchison leads UNCG in wins with a 5-3 record, which, based on victories, stands 89th in NCAA Division I.
• The Spartans posted a season-high for runs (13) a third time this season on Saturday at USC Upstate in the 18-13 setback in Spartanburg.
• UNCG previously plated 13 runs on March 29 at VMI in a 13-12 victory as well as on March 2 vs. Pitt in a 13-11 win at home.
• When scoring 10 or more runs this season, UNCG is now 4-1.
• Wolf leads the Spartans with a .324 (47-for-145) batting average and 30 runs scored. He is also second on the team with 17 RBI.
• Freshman Parker Wight leads UNCG with eight home runs and 23 RBI.
• Junior outfielder Luke Holland is tied for second on the team with Dilley at four home runs.
• 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.
• Senior right-handed pitcher Rob 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 BEARS

• Mercer is 26-17 overall and owns a 6-6 record in SoCon games this season.
• The Bears were last in action on Wednesday night, winning 4-2 over Florida A&M down in Tallahassee, Florida.
• Drew Johnson (1-for-4) and Zack Thompson (1-for-3) drove in runs at Florida A&M.
• Ty Dalley (1-for-4) homered and Eli Stephens (2-for-3) tallied multiple hits to lead the Bears at the plate last time out.
• Bradley Frye is leading the Bears in batting production with a team-best .355 (66-for-186) average and 113 total bases. He is second on the team in home runs (11), doubles (14) and RBI (45).
• Dalley paces Mercer as the team leader in home runs (15), doubles (15) and RBI (51).
• The Bears' probable starting arm for Friday night is left-handed pitcher Colton Cosper while right-hander Jeb Johnson is expected to go for Mercer in game two on Saturday. Sunday's starting arm remains to be determined.
• Cosper leads Mercer's pitching staff with a 3.98 ERA in a team-high 54.1 innings pitched made up of 11 appearances and 10 starts. He ranks second on the team with 51 strikeouts and is holding opposing hitters to a .271 average.
• Johnson will make his 16th appearance and sixth start on Saturday. In 40.1 innings pitched, he owns a 5.80 ERA and .300 opponent batting average with just seven walks and 42 strikeouts this season.
• Mercer was voted to finish in a fourth-place tie with ETSU in the SoCon Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Dalley was named the conference's Preseason Player of the Year.
• Additionally, Dalley, Jess Ackerman, Frye and Colton Cosper were each recognized on the Preseason All-SoCon First Team.
• Head Coach Craig Gibson is in his 22nd season in charge of the Mercer Bear's baseball program. He owns an overall record of 719-496.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MERCER
The Spartans trail the Bears 16-17 in the all-time series. Last season's series, which was played in Greensboro, went UNCG's way two games to one from March 22-24, 2024. After dropping game one of the series, 5-2, the Spartans won 6-2 in game two before winning the rubber match via the 10-run rule, 13-3 in seven innings.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans return home to play five straight at UNCG Baseball Stadium, including midweeks on Tuesday vs. Coastal Carolina and Wednesday vs. High Point before welcoming in The Citadel from Friday to Sunday for a SoCon weekend series. The midweek games are both scheduled for 6:00 p.m. starts while the weekend will feature a 4:00 p.m. first pitch on Friday, 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and 2:00 p.m. for Sunday's finale against The Citadel.

All regular season baseball home games are free admission. The concessions at UNCG Baseball Stadium are now open. Bringing in outside food is not permitted and pets are not allowed into the stadium.