GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) softball team will host Michigan and North Carolina Central on Friday and Saturday at UNCG Softball Stadium.  

UNCG is 15-5 overall, Michigan is 14-7 and North Carolina Central is 1-15 this season.

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

Tournament Central
 

 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPARTANS

• UNCG fell to Coastal Carolina, 9-1, in five innings on Tuesday in Conway, South Carolina.
• Kaylyn Belfield, Meredith Harwood and Samantha Beck each tallied a hit for the Spartans.
• Rylie Williams tallied the Spartans' only RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly.

RUNDOWN ON THE SPARTANS

• Loftin is leading the Spartans with 29 hits and is one of four Spartans with a .400 or better batting average, swinging .439 at the plate in 20 games played with a team-high 24 RBI.
• She is nationally ranked 16^th in triples (3), 22^nd in total bases (55), 29^th in runs per game (1.20), 35^th in RBI per game (1.20), 41^st in hits (29), 47^th in RBI (24) and 47^th in triples per game (0.15).
• Rylie Williams is pacing the team with seven home runs, which is 24th nationally and first in The Southern Conference (SoCon).
• Meredith Harwood and Macy Michael each have six home runs.  
• Five other Spartans have double-figure RBI, with Williams at 20 RBI, Harwood and Shipley tied for third with 19 RBI each, Macy Michael with 17 RBI and Jorde Chartrand with 16 RBI.
• Kaylyn Belfield is 39th nationally and leading the SoCon with a .480 batting percentage and is 46^th nationally and second in the conference with a .557 on-base percentage.
• Ward leads the pitching staff with 51 strikeouts, a 1.90 ERA and a 7-2 record.
• Ward is 26th in victories and 47th nationally in strikeouts.
• Ward earned SoCon Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 17 after going 4-0 in the Spiro Invitational.
• UNCG is ranked in the top 25 nationally in home runs (7^th/34), home runs per game (8^th/1.70), slugging percentage (8^th/.638), walks (10^th/94), RBI per game (11^th/7.65), RBI (14^th/153), scoring (14^th/8.20), triples (15^th/8), on-base percentage (16^th/.447), batting average (17^th/.354), total runs (18^th/164), hits (21^st/190) and triples per game (24^th/.40).
• The Spartans are leading the SoCon in 16 categories, including batting average, hits, home runs, home runs per game, on-base percentage, RBI per game, RBI, scoring, slugging percentage, total runs, triples, triples per game, win/loss percentage and walks.
• Head Coach Janelle Breneman earned her 400^th win at the helm of the Spartans following a 7-2 win over Saint Francis on Feb. 16.
• UNCG was chosen to finish second in the SoCon Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Spartans received one first-place vote.  
• The Spartans concluded the 2024 season 33-26 overall and 13-8 in the SoCon.
• It was the fifth-straight season with 30 or more wins.
• It was also the ninth year with 30 or more wins under the direction of Head Coach Janelle Breneman, who is in her 13^th year with the Blue & Gold.
• The Spartans saw another successful statistical year, leading the SoCon in home runs per game (1.37), home runs (81), slugging percentage (0.490), triples per game (0.22) and walks (240).
• UNCG was also ranked nationally in the top 30 in four categories: sixth in walks, 11^th in home runs, 14^th in home runs per game and 30^th in slugging percentage.
• Loftin was named to the SoCon Preseason First Team, while Betsy Eatmon and Jorde Chartrand were voted to the Preseason Second Team.
• The Spartans reached the SoCon Championship game for the sixth-straight year in 2024, excluding the COVID 2020 shortened season, falling to Chattanooga in the double elimination game.
• UNCG added four freshmen and two transfers.
• The Spartans have four of their pitchers returning this season, including Chartrand.

RUNDOWN ON MICHIGAN

• Michigan finished the 2024 season 43-18 overall and 18-5 in the Big Ten, winning its 11^th Big Ten Conference Tournament for the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.  
• Jenissa Conway, Lauren Derkowski and Maddie Erickson were named to the 2025 Big Ten Conference Softball Players to Watch List.
• Michigan is on a 12-game road stretch in North Carolina and are most recently coming off a 2-1 loss to East Carolina.
• Lauren Putz is leading the team with a .397 batting average swinging 23-for-58 with 21 runs scored, four doubles, one triple and a team-leading five home runs and 17 RBI.
• Lilly Vallimont and Conway are tied for second with 13 RBI, while Ella Stephenson has 12 RBI.
• Conway is also a force on the bases successfully stealing 6-for-7 bases.
• Derkowski has 66 strikeouts in 71.1 innings pitched with a 5-4 record in the circle, while Erin Hoehn is 8-2 in 40.2 innings pitched.
• Derkowski is second in the nation in complete games with eight, sixth in innings pitched, eighth in shutouts (3), 11^th in saves (2) and 16^th in pitching appearances (15).
• The Wolverines are nationally ranked in fielding percentage (17^th/.977), shutouts (19^th/6), WHIP (34^th/1.18), strikeout-to-walk ratio (62^nd/5.80) and earned run average (46^th/2.56).

RUNDOWN ON NCCU

• NCCU was picked to finish fourth in the 2025 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason Poll.
• First-year Head Coach Now-Allah James returns 12 players from last year's squad.
• NCCU concluded the 2024 season 20-36 overall with a 14-7 MEAC record.
• The Eagles reached the MEAC Tournament semifinals last year after winning the championship in 2023.
• Senior pitcher Jaden Davis, junior first baseman Takia Nichols, junior shortstop Makiya Graves and sophomore outfielder Tyler Suttles were all named to the 2025 Preseason All-MEAC team.
• Davis led the MEAC in strikeouts with 116 in 2024, while ranking second with 188.1 innings pitched and third with 12 wins.
• Suttles ranked among MEAC's top 10 players in five major hitting categories, including third in batting average (.435) and hits (27).
• The Spartans defeated NCCU in their season opener, 14-5, in five-innings.
• Kendall Smith is leading the team with eight RBI, a .367 batting average.

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UP NEXT 
The Spartans will travel to Charleston, South Carolina, to compete at the Charleston Southern Tournament from March 14-16 to face the Bucs and Fairfield.