GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team is on the road for the first time this season, taking on the Virginia Tech Hokies from Saturday to Monday at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park in Blacksburg, Virginia. First pitches for the series are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday and Monday.
 

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPARTANS

• UNCG upset the nation's No. 13-rated Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 4-0, on Tuesday night at UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro.
• The Spartans limited the Demon Deacons to just a pair of hits on the way to their second shutout win of the season.
• Southpaw sophomore Noah Chapman started on the mound for UNCG and pitched five brilliant shutout innings with just one hit and three walks allowed while striking out seven.
• In relief, Danny Thompson Jr. started the sixth and pitched the remaining four innings for his second save of the season, also with one hit against while having two walks and seven strikeouts.
• Chapman and Thompson Jr. set a season-low for the UNCG staff with two hits allowed.
• Luke Holland, Jeremy Wolf and Trey Truitt each led with two hits.
• Jacob Budzik recorded the only RBI for the Spartans on a groundout, which made it 4-0.
• It marked their first win over a ranked opponent since beating then-No. 13 NC State, 18-3, last season in Raleigh on March 12.
• It was also UNCG's first shutout over a ranked opponent since beating No. 4 South Carolina, 1-0, on the road on Feb. 19, 2017.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

• UNCG is 3-1 to start the new season after winning a three-game series vs. Creighton last weekend, winning 5-3 and 3-0 on Friday before falling 17-1 on Sunday, and shutting out No. 13 Wake Forest, 4-0, on Tuesday.
• With two shutouts already this season, UNCG is tied for most in the country with eight other teams.
• Additionally, the Spartans rank 18th nationally with an average of 13.0 strikeouts per nine innings and 26th with 10 hit by pitches already.
• Chapman is tied for first in the nation with 14 strikeouts.
• Thompson Jr. is tied for second in the country with a pair of saves through four games.
• Senior outfielder Zachary Walsh is leading the Spartans offensively, batting .385 (5-for-13) with four runs scored and two RBI, which includes the team's only home run so far.
• Freshman infielder Parker Wight is leading the team with five walks in four games.
• 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. Additionally, UNCG captured its third Southern Conference (SoCon) Regular Season Championship behind a conference record of 15-6.
• 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 were voted to finish first in SoCon 2025 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• UNCG collected three first-place votes and 40 points to finish on top of the SoCon's Preseason Poll. Samford was a close second, receiving three first-place votes and 38 points.
• 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), Holland (OF), Truitt (DH) 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 also back after being named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team in 2024.
• 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 HOKIES

• Virginia Tech is also off to a 3-1 start this season and has yet to play on the road.
• The Hokies opened the season with a doubleheader last Friday where they split with Bucknell, winning 19-0 before falling 8-6. Virginia Tech claimed the series' victory with a convincing 27-1 win in seven innings last Sunday before taking down SoCon-foe ETSU on Tuesday, 8-6.
• Virginia Tech is led offensively by Sam Tackett, who is batting .750 (9-for-12) with three home runs and 10 RBI already. Tackett notably launched all three home runs against Bucknell over the weekend, including a 500-foot blast on Sunday.
• The Hokies have 11 pitchers who have all pitched an inning or more without allowing an earned run to this point.
• Virginia Tech was voted to finish 12th out of 16 teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
• The Hokies finished the 2024 campaign 32-22 overall and 14-16 in league play for 10th overall in the ACC and fifth in the Coastal Division.
• Head Coach John Szefc is in his seventh season at the helm of Viriginia Tech baseball and 19th season coaching overall.
• Szefc owns a 163-128 (.560) record at Virginia Tech and 555-387-4 (.589) mark overall.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE HOKIES
Saturday's series opener will be the 10th all-time meeting between the Spartans and Hokies. Virginia Tech leads the series, which dates back to the first meeting during the 1992 season, 6-3.

UNCG prevailed in the previous two meetings back in 2021 and 2020, 7-2 and 7-5, respectively.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans will face a third ACC opponent in a row when they welcome Pittsburgh to UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro from Feb. 28 to March 2. Start times for the series are scheduled for 4:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.