GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team is set to face the Samford Bulldogs in a three-game weekend series in The Southern Conference (SoCon) at Joe Lee Griffin Field in Birmingham, Alabama.

The series between UNCG (19-27, 8-7 SoCon) and Samford (24-23, 9-6 SoCon) will start at 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT on Friday. Game two will then start at 3 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. CT on Saturday before Sunday's series finale at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT.
 

LAST WEEK FOR THE SPARTANS

• After falling 8-2 while hosting No. 19 Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, UNCG fell two games to one in a SoCon weekend series against The Citadel.
• The Spartans lost games one and two, 8-7, to the Bulldogs before winning the finale in seven innings via a run rule in the finale, 18-3.
• The finale saw the Spartans set a single-season record for runs (18) and hits (20).
• Brantley Truitt led UNCG with nine hits in four games last week.
• Jacob Budzik paced the Spartans with a .538 (7-for-13) batting average last week.
• Budzik and Luke Jenkins led the team with six RBI.
• The Spartans had a 4-2 edge over opponents in home runs last week in the four games at home.
• Freshman right-handed pitcher Jake Colucci earned SoCon Pitcher of the Week after making two relief appearances last week for a combined 7.1 shutout innings.
• Colucci allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out seven.

SCOUTING UNCG

• The Spartans own an overall record of 19-27 with an 8-7 mark in the SoCon. They stand at fifth in the league with a .533 conference winning percentage.
• UNCG is 48th in the country with three shutouts this season.
• The Spartans stand at 43rd in walks allowed per nine innings (3.76), 44th in strikeout-to-walk-ratio (2.40), and 52nd in sacrifice bunts (27).
• A threat to steal, UNCG also ranks 79th nationally in stolen bases per game (1.61) and 82nd in total stolen bases (74).
• Sam Murchison leads the Spartans with 70 strikeouts this season, which ranks 87th in NCAA Division I.
• Jay Miller is second for UNCG with 69 strikeouts, which stands at 98th nationally.
• Danny Thompson Jr. is third on the team with 68 strikeouts so far this season.
• Thompson Jr. also leads the Spartans and is 52nd in the country with a 2.85 ERA and .231 opponent batting average in 47.1 innings pitched. He is also 12th nationally by averaging 12.93 strikeouts per nine innings and leads UNCG with four saves this season.
• Noah Chapman is fourth on the Spartans with 64 strikeouts and ranks 18th in NCAA Division I with a 5.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
• The Spartans set a new season-high for single-game hits and runs last time out facing The Citadel with 18 runs on 20 hits.
• When scoring 10 or more runs this season, UNCG is 5-1.
• Brantley Truitt leads the Spartans with a .323 (41-for-127) batting average.
• Wolf is second on the team with a .312 (53-for-170) batting average and leads the Spartans with 16 doubles and 34 runs scored. He also leads the team in extra-base hits (21) and total bases (82).
• Freshman Parker Wight leads UNCG with eight home runs and 25 RBI.
• Luke Holland is tied for second on the team with Jacob Dilley at five 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 BULLDOGS

• Samford enters the weekend with a record of 24-23 overall and 9-6 mark in SoCon play for a tie of second with The Citadel in the league standings.
• The Bulldogs are coming off a 12-8 loss at home against No. 19 Troy on Wednesday.
• Samford is scheduled to start left-handed pitcher Miller Riggins in Friday's series opener and right-handed pitcher Cameron Keshock on Saturday. Samford has not named a starter for Sunday's game yet.
• Jeffrey Ince currently leads the team in hitting with a .328 (59-for-180) average with 15 doubles, nine home runs and 30 RBI.
• Michael Gupton is hitting .325 (52-for-160) with eight doubles, 10 home runs and 36 RBI. Cade Carr has a .322 (56-for-174) average with 11 doubles, seven home runs and 50 RBI.
• Jake Souders is hitting .315 (58-for-184) with 10 doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBI.
• Jackson Harris is currently hitting .304 (52-for-171) with 12 doubles, four home runs and 35 RBI.
• Parker McDonald currently leads the team in home runs with 11 and in slugging percentage at .604.
• The Bulldogs finished second to the Spartans last season in the SoCon standings with a 14-7 mark in league play.
• Samford's season ended with two losses, 10-9 and 15-9, to Wofford in the 2024 SoCon Tournament Championship.
• Samford was voted to finish second in the 2025 SoCon Preseason Poll with three first-place votes.
• Riggins (SP), Evan Stockmesser (RP) and Ince (2B) were each named to the SoCon Preseason All-SoCon Second Team.
• Samford Head Coach Tony David is in his fourth season in charge of the program. During his time as the head coach, he has posted a 125-99 record.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SAMFORD
Samford and UNC Greensboro have met 52 previous times, with Samford holding a 32-20 series lead. The two teams met in Greensboro last season, with the Spartans winning two out of the three games, 4-8, 14-4 (8 innings), 6-4.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans return home to host Longwood on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. before welcoming in Western Carolina for a SoCon series to close out the regular season from Thursday to Saturday at UNCG Baseball Stadium.

Game times for the series are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday before a 2:00 p.m. first pitch to conclude the series and regular season on Saturday. Friday will be the Spartans' Senior Day as UNCG's 10 seniors will be recognized with a ceremony prior to first pitch.

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