GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team will face its third consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent when it welcomes the Pittsburgh (Pitt) Panthers to town from Friday to Sunday at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
 

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPARTANS

• UNCG fell two games to one during a road series at Virginia Tech last weekend, winning game one, 6-2, and falling in game two, 6-2, before dropping the series with an 8-3 loss in Monday's finale.
• Freshman first baseman Parker Wight led the Spartans with four hits in the series and three runs scored.
• Sophomore outfielder Brantley Truitt also put up four hits and an RBI in the series.
• Right-handed pitcher Sam Murchison made his second start of the season in the series opener and improved to 2-0 with a win. He allowed six hits and two runs while walking one and striking out five.
• In Saturday's 6-2 victory over the Hokies, Spartan catcher Case Kermode finished with two hits and two RBI while also drawing a walk.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

• UNCG is off to a 4-3 overall start after winning a three-game series vs. Creighton from Feb. 14-16 before shutting out then-No. 13 Wake Forest on Feb. 18 and dropping its first road series two games to one at Virginia Tech.
• With two shutouts already this season, UNCG is tied for fourth in the country.
• Left-handed pitcher Noah Chapman is tied for the team lead and ranked 57th in the nation with 15 strikeouts.
• Danny Thompson Jr. is tied for 10th in the country with a pair of saves so far. He has yet to allow a run this season and is tied for the team lead with eight strikeouts. He was awarded this week's Terminix Pest Performance of the Week.
• Wight is leading the Spartans offensively through seven games so far. He is batting .318 (7-for-22) with a double, two RBI, four runs and a team-leading seven walks.
• Senior outfielder Zachary Walsh is second on the team, batting .250 (5-for-20) with five runs scored and three RBI, which includes the team's only home run so far back in the season opener vs. Creighton (Feb. 14).
• 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 Southern Conference (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 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 PANTHERS

• Pittsburgh is 5-2 overall to start the season after winning three games vs. Eastern Michigan, 9-8, 11-8 and 17-2, before winning two out of three at Monmouth, 6-1, 5-1 and 6-7, and falling last time out, 7-3, while hosting Bucknell on Tuesday night.
• The Panthers stand at first in the country, averaging 1.71 double plays per game.
• Pitt has three hitters with an over .300 average through its first seven games. They are Luke Cantwell (.375), Lorenzo Carrier (.370) and Ryan Zuckerman (.333).
• Lorenzo and AJ Nessler are leading the Panthers with a pair of home runs. Pitt has hit eight long balls in seven games as a team this season.
• Lorenzo and Zuckerman are leading the team with 10 hits each.
• Southpaw starting pitcher Partick Gardner has made two starts this season and has 10 innings pitched under his belt. He leads Pitt with a .70 WHIP.
• Another left-handed pitcher in Ethan Firoved has made two appearances and leads the staff with a 1.23 ERA, nine strikeouts and the team's only save.
• Pitt finished last season with a 26-29 overall record and 10-20 mark competing in the ACC to finish 13th out of the 14 teams that were in the league.
• With the ACC now having 16 baseball teams, Pitt was voted to finish 14th in the conference's preseason poll.
• The Panthers are led by Mike Bell, who is in his seventh season at the helm of the program. Under Bell, the Panthers have seen one All-American, five All-Region selections and 11 All-ACC honorees while 14 players have been drafted or signed by MLB organizations. Pitt has amassed 133 wins, with 32 of them coming against ranked opponents, as well as four postseason wins in their four postseason appearances.

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE PANTHERS
This weekend's three-game series will mark the first-ever meetings between the Spartans and Panthers.

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UP NEXT
The Spartans will face a fourth consecutive ACC opponent when they host NC State for a midweek test at UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.

UNCG will then take on the Elon Phoenix on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at UNCG Baseball Stadium before hosting Radford from March 7-9 in Greensboro.